b Louisville, Kentucky 1990
EDUCATION
2022 The University of Chicago, Master of Arts in Digital Studies of Language, Culture, and History.
Mental Health First Aid Instructor Certificate–National Council for Mental Wellbeing–facilitated by the University of Chicago.
2021 University of Louisville. Master of Fine Arts Studio Art and Design.
2012 Art Academy of Cincinnati. Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting, Minored in Art History with a Specialty in Contemporary Art, Cum Laude.
TEACHING / PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2024- Assistant Professor [Term], Painting. University of Louisville’s Hite Institute of Art & Design
Foundations Drawing,
Introduction to Painting
(Spring)
Concepts in Painting, Professional Practice: Painting, Special Topics in Painting: Abstraction
2023-2024 Part-Time Lecturer, Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY
Drawing (Introduction and Intermediate),
Web Art & Design,
Concepts in Art
2022-2024 Part-Time Lecturer, University of Louisville. Louisville, KY
Studio Art & Visual Culture,
Introduction to Painting
2022-2022 Visiting Lecturer, Georgetown College, Georgetown KY
Introduction and Advanced Painting
Experimental Video
2022 Copy-Editor and Data Visualisation Production. Commonwealth Review of Political Science. Kentucky. 2021, 2023
2021 Student Technician for. Wood / Metal Shop & Gallery Preparation, The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, The University of Chicago.
Student Technician for Media, Arts, Data, & Design Center in John Crerar Library for Computer Science The University of Chicago.
2019-2021 Instructor of Record. Hite Institute of Art & Design, University of Louisville
2D Design Foundations
Studio Art and Visual Culture,
Foundations Concepts and Methods.
2017-Present Organizer and Curator, houseguest Gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
2018- 2020 Transcriptionist and Producer. The Conversation: an Artist Podcast. Los Angeles, California. (remote)
2017- 2021 Louisville / Lexington contributor to AEQAI: The Publication.
2017-2019 Instructor for Louisville Visual Art Programming. Louisville, Kentucky.
2014-16 Gallery Coordinator, Curator. Sharonville Cultural Arts Center.
2014-16 Community Education Instructor (ages 5-18, college prep, and adult courses). Art Academy of Cincinnati. Sharonville Cultural Arts Center.
2015-16 Operations Manager, Vineyard Vines, Kenwood Mall, Cincinnati, Ohio ($7million grossing store)
2012-2015 General Merchandising Manager, Gap, Kenwood, Cincinnati Ohio. ($5million grossing store)
EXHIBITIONS/artist
SOLO AND TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2025 [Upcoming] Two Person Exhibition with Adam Eddy, curated by Maurro Baureto. Browsing Room Gallery, Nashville, TN
2024 Orgonon, Institute 193 Lexington KY
all visitors must report to the site office Surface Noise, Louisville KY
Oliva, Chicago IL In conjunction with Chicago Sculpture International
The Blazing-World Wheelhouse Gallery, Louisville KY
2023 it is entirely possible to stay too long at the fair. Divisible Projects, Dayton Ohio
2022 again I put all my hope in dirt and wood, basketshop gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio. January
2021 but also full of seeds for a future that could have turned out differently. MFA Gallery. Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville. March
2020 What They Said In Public, Georgetown College. Lexington, Kentucky. March.
of an event; assigned a date that is too early. Bunk Gallery. Cincinnati, Ohio. January
2019 _we_are_inside_the_fire_, Quappi Projects. Louisville, Kentucky.
PLAY THAT ONE BACK, JOHNNY. Megan Bickel and Louis A. Edwards. Erie Art Gallery. Erie, Pennsylvania
2018 hope is grounded in memory. Hyland Gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
2015 Just Be Nice. Westheimer Gallery / Sharonville Cultural Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Exposure Therapy, KMAC. Louisville, KY
The Kármán Line, Tiger Strikes Asteroid Greenville South Carolina
15 Years, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Los Angeles California
Doomscapes and the Digital Beyond. Curated by Curtis Anthony Bozif Arc Gallery Chicago, IL
2023 Seeded in a Field of Noise. Megan Bickel, Paula Petross, Joshua Johnson, and Gibbs Rounsavall curated by Rebecca Norton at Common Gallery. Louisville , KY
Rounding the Circle: The Mary and Al Shands Collection. Speed Art Museum. Louisville, KY
2022 GARDEN. Ladies Room Gallery. LA, California.
2022 PRETTY PERV. MADS Mixed Reality Gallery. Milan, Italy.
Through the Mirage. Curated by Nicholas Dietrich. The Fitzrovia Gallery. London, UK.
2021 40 Years KMAC Museum: Reflect, Reframe, Remake, Remodel. KMAC Museum. Louisville, Kentucky.
The Shands Collection: New Directions. Curated by Julien Robson. Quappi Projects. Louisville, Kentucky.
2020 A(artistic) x (I)nteresting x (P)owerful. curated by Steve Kemple, Lindsey Whittle, and Loraine Wible, in conjunction with an A.I. Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Ohio.
MFA Inaugural Exhibition. Rowan MFA Building. University of Louisville. Louisville, Kentucky
Future is Now. 849 Gallery / Kentucky College of Art and Design, Louisville, Kentucky.
2016 Abstract Expressionism. Linus Galleries. L.A., California
2015 Modes of Abstraction. University of Cincinnati / Blue Ash Gallery. Cincinnati, Ohio
2012 Past is Prologue. Harvest Gallery. Cincinnati, Ohio
2010 Et Merda. Semantics. Cincinnati, Ohio
EXHIBITIONS/curator or organizer
2025 [Upcoming] HIdden Down South: Camouflage in the Southeast Expanded, Cressman Center, University of Louisville. Louisville, KY. December 2025
[Upcoming] HIdden Down South: Camouflage in the Southeast, TSA GVL, Greenville, South Carolina. Summer 2025
[Upcoming] Hannah Smith, houseguest gallery. Louisville, KY. January 2025
2024 Aritst in Residency, and exhibition, Strip Tease, Maggie Genoble. TSA GVL. Greenville, South Carolina
2023 Then is Then for the Both of Us. Sara Olshansky. houseguest gallery. Louisville, KY
Las Desparecidas de Ciudad Jarez. Diane Kahlo. houseguest gallery. Louisville KY
Post Everything: Louisville Punk and its Art Objects. Co-curated with Brett Eugene Ralph. houseguest gallery. Louisville KY
2022 In The Weeds: Camouflage and Its Discontents. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky.
2021 Wandering Home. Alivia Blade. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky.
The Same Thing From A Distance. Liam Ze’ev O’Connor. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
Virtual Paradise. Jen Dwyer and Gracelee Lawrence, curated by Samantha Simpson. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
Place. Lindsey Dezman. houseguest gallery. (YARDSIDE) Louisville, Kentucky.
2020 Popsicle Energy | collaborative works by Katie Hargrave and Meredith Lynn. houseguest gallery (YARDSIDE) Louisville, Kentucky.
Industry Fossils and Germinating Sunshine. Kiah Celeste and Mariel Gardner. houseguest gallery (YARDSIDE) Louisville, Kentucky.
the one-pagers. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
Femme Maison. Mychaelyn Michalec and Karen Weeks. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
2019 numinous low road; numinous hall (retrospectives on change). Charles Rivera. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
(organized) From My Friends (with a little help) | curator Benjamin Cook. for artist list refer to houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
(organized) Resident | curator Jessica Oberdick | artist Renzo Velez. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
(organized) Liminal Form | curator Kevin Warth | artists Jake Ford and S.N. Parks. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
(organized) The Monster’s House | curator Abby Mae Friend | houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
2018 The Private World of a Fold | Rebecca Norton. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
The Good American | Noah Howard and Darrin Milliner. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
The Memory Closet | Amelia Briggs. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
All That I Am is Grateful | Alyson Davies and Pez Jones. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
Model Unit | team b. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
always feeling as if their mind moved much too quickly to keep up with | Nina Kersey. houseguest gallery. Louisville, Kentucky
LECTURES / PANEL TALKS / PAPER PRESENTATIONS
2024 Upcoming: Session Chair & Paper Presenter, “Seeing Land: How Environmental Justice & EcoArts will be Impacted by AI.” SECAC Atlanta, Georgia.
VR, AR, and Art. Kentucky College of Art and Design
Indiana University Southeast External Evaluator BFA Thesis Defenses, IUS, Indiana
“Flat Pixel(s): Color and Assemblage, Metadata, and Screen Recordings.” Presenting a short film, “Color by Number” a database painting for Color in the Expanded Field Session at the MACAA Virtual Conference: Defining the Undefined: Art, Education, Technology, and the Mapping of Ourselves. March 2024
2023 Visiting Artist: Mark-Making and Abstraction. Kentucky College of Art and Design
Artist Panel moderated by Joey Yates, Speed Art Museum for “Rounding the Circle.”
2022 Visiting Curator. Capstone Thesis, Studio Art. Kentucky College of Art and Design
Visiting Critic. Graduate Seminars led by Mary Carothers at University of Louisville
“Climate Storytelling and Google Vision API.” Feminist Digital Methods Conference. York University’s Centre for Feminist Research. August 2022
“Science Fiction, Future Memory, and Effective Digital Solastalgia.” Research in Visual Evidence (RAVE) Presentation. Department of Art History at The University of Chicago. April 2022
Workshop on Stretcher Building. Logan Center Wood Shop, The University of Chicago. January-March, 2022.
2020 “Casualist and Post-Digital Painting in the 21st Century and Razzle Dazzle Camouflague during World War I” Department of Visual Art and Design at Georgetown College, Kentucky. February 2020.
OTHER / AWARDS
2024 Great Meadows Travelling Grant to attend SECAC (Atlanta, GA)
2023 Fund for the Arts Community Event Micro Grants—Awarded to me for facilitating houseguest programming
2021 Graduate Student Council. DIGS Representative. University of Chicago. 2021-2022.
Burnaway Arts Writing Incubator, Class of 2021.
Hite Art Institute Exceptional Graduate Student Award, Louisville, Kentucky
2020 Dario A Covi Award. Hite Art Institute. University of Louisville.Louisville, Kentucky.
Professional Development Grant. 2021 Fate Conference.
Professional Development Grant. 2020 SECAC Conference.
Society For Collegiate Leadership and Achievement, University of Louisville Chapter.
Graduate Representative, United Nations Association (Women’s League), University of Louisville Chapter. 2019-Present
Docent, KMAC Museum. Louisville, Kentucky. 2018-2020
Secretary, Executive Board Member. Squallis Puppeteers. Louisville, Kentucky. 2017-2021
2019 Graduate Student Council, Fine Arts Representative, Research Selection Committee. University of Louisville. Louisville, Kentucky. 2018-2019.
2012 Presenter at Third Annual Dr. Jonathon Riess Annual Undergraduate Art History Colloquium at University of Cincinnati. Cincinnati, Ohio.
2011 Academic Internship Study with Bill Seitz, Curator, The Carnegie. Covington, Kentucky.
RESIDENCIES
2023 Kentucky Foundation for Women, Loretto Motherhouse Artist and Activism Summer Residency. Loretto, Kentucky.
2020 Kentucky Foundation for Women, Hopscotch House Residency. Prospect, Kentucky
Printmaking Artist in Residence. Eastern Illinois University. Illinois.
2019 Project 1612. Peoria, Illinois.
COLLECTIONS
2023 “Now a Union is Filing a Charge” from _we_are_inside_the_fire_ KMAC Museum. Louisville, KY.
2020 “Bloomberg Offers Trump Ten Million Dollars to Leave the White House by the End of the Day.”(2019) Collection of John Brooks and Erik Eaker
“You’re Put in a Place Where Everyone Has the Same Delusion.” (2019) Collection of Letitia Quesenberry.
“There Was No Template for His Perceptions” from _we_are_inside_the_fire_. Collection of Dr. Lauren Freeman and Dr. Andreas Elpidorou.
“Now a Union is Filing a Charge” from _we_are_inside_the_fire_ Al Shands / Great Meadows Foundation.
2017 Two works from Just Be Nice. Chip Finke / Graydon Law. Cincinnati, Ohio
2015 Two works from Senior Thesis Exhibition (2012). Art Academy of Cincinnati
PRESS/PUBLICATIONS
Curation
2023 “Then is Then for the Both of Us.” Kevin Warth. Ruckus: Critical Art Review in Louisville, Kentucky
“Katie Hargrave & Meredith Lynn: Exposing the Insidious Camouflage of Bad Outdoorsmen.” Shannon Cynowa. Burnaway, Atlanta, Georgia.
2022 “In the Weeds: Review and Q&A with artistic researcher and theorist, Gian Luigi Biagini. Nathaniel Hendrickson. Ruckus: Critical Art Review in Louisville, Kentucky
2021 “Wandering Home.” Jessica Oberdick. Ruckus: Critical Art Review in Louisville, Kentucky
“Industry Fossils & Germinating Sunshine.” Tatiana Ryckman. Ruckus: Critical Art Review in Louisville, Kentucky.
2020 “Femme Maison.” Anna Blake. Ruckus: Critical Art Review in Louisville, Kentucky.
“Textile Show at Louisville’s houseguest Gallery Explores Technology and Motherhood.” Natalie Weis. Fresh Air and WFPL, NPR .Louisville, Kentucky.
2019 “numinous low road; numinous hall (retrospectives on change).”Hunter Kissel. Ruckus: Critical Art Review in Louisville, Kentucky.
2018 “The Good American”. Jessica Oberdick. Ruckus: Critical Art Review in Louisville, Kentucky.
“The Memory Closet”. Kevin Warth. Ruckus: Critical Art Review in Louisville, Kentucky.
“Model Unit + Interview with Megan Bickel of houseguest”. Kevin Warth. Ruckus: Critical Art Review in Louisville, Kentucky.
Bibliography
2024 “Orgonon.” Anarchist Review of Books.
“There’s Something Toxic About Megan BIckel’s Landscapes.” Hyperallergic. Natalie Weis.
“if i was your pen you could hold me in your hand and i wouldn't mind you taking your time to draw the straight lines.” Anarchist Review of Books.
2020 “Louisville Visual Artist Megan Bickel Works With Synthetic Materials, Confused Identities.” Tatiana Ryckman. WFPL, NPR Louisville Syndicate. Louisville, Kentucky.
“Gerhard Richter Meets Lisa Frank in Louisville-Based Multidisciplinary Artist Megan Bickel's Solo Bunk Spot Gallery Exhibition.” Steve Kemple. Citybeat. Cincinnati, Ohio.
2019 “_we_are_inside_the_fire_”. Ginger, Issue 19. Jacqueline Cantu, and Markee Speyer. Chicago / Bushwick.
“Open Studio Weekend Spotlight with Megan Bickel.” Keith Waits.Artebella. Louisville Visual Art. Louisville, Kentucky.
“Megan Bickel: Texture Study.” Werks: International Contemporary Art. Chicago, Illinois. issue 2.
2018 “Artists to Collect: Megan Bickel”. Claudia Eng. 10011 Magazine in partnership with Claudia Eng Gallery. New York, New York.
“hope is grounded in memory”. Mary Clore. Ruckus: Critical Art Review in Louisville, Kentucky.
2017 PUBLIC with Keith Waits. Interview for Louisville Visual Art at ArtxFM.
2015 “Artist Visualizes Social Anxiety”. cincinnati.com.
2012 “Art: Past is Present”. CityBeat. Alan Pocaro.
2012 “Places with a Past: New Site-Specific Art in Charleston’s Spoleto Festival”. Incliner.
WRITTEN WORK: ESSAYS / INTERVIEWS / ARTS CRITICISM
2024 [Upcoming]“Kathia St. Hilaire + Megan Bickel: On her exhibition at the Speed Art Museum” Burnaway.
2023 “Q+A: Tiffany Calvert with Megan Bickel” Ruckus.
Coulter Fusell at Institute 193. Burnaway
2022 “Evidence. Emil Robinson at the Weston in Cincinnati.” Ruckus
“Julien Robson & “Rounding the Circle” at the Speed. NewCity Chicago.
“Based On a True Story. . . “ Ruckus
“Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground.” Ruckus.
“A Review of Artist Run Spaces at the Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati.” Sixty Inches from Center. Chicago, IL.
Contributing Critic to NewCity, Chicago IL.
“Immersive Delight: In Nick Cave’s First Retrospective, the Artist Dares Us to Dream.” NewCity. Chicago, IL
“Soft Tread” Ruckus Louisville. Louisville, Kentucky.
Heather Jones: Appalachian Geometry and Womanist Labor in Storytellers. Presented alongside exhibitions of solo exhibitions by Odili Donald Odita and Jeffrey Gibson. Essay for Contemporary Dayton. January
2021 Jordan Nassar. “The Field is Infinite at KMAC Museum. SECAC Journal. Fall 2021.
“Olly Olly Oxen Free.” Ruckus Louisville. Louisville, Kentucky.
“Rebecca Norton: Q&A.” Ruckus Louisville. Louisville, Kentucky.
2020 “Q&A: Kiah Celeste and Material Agency.” Aeqai. Cincinnati, Ohio.
Tala Madani and her Théâtre de la Cruauté in Projections.Aeqai. Cincinnati, Ohio
The Double Standard and The Drawing Room within Perrotin A Quick Examination of Genesis Belanger & Emily Mae Smith Cincinnati, Ohio
ALL THINGS ARE DELICATELY INTERCONNECTED: Jenny Holzer // Wanda Orme Earth Day and COVID-19 Cincinnati, Ohio
Your Past Needs You: “Cat Mummies Came First” at Sheherazade Cincinnati, Ohio
“We Don’t Have Anesthesia But We Have Music. . .” Feras Fayyad’s “The Cave” (2019) at Speed Museum Cinema Aeqai, Cincinnati, Ohio
“All the Useless Things Are Mine: A Book of Seventeens.” Ruckus Louisville. Louisville, Kentucky.
2019 September Diencephalon at Institute 193 Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Letitia Quesenberry at Quappi Projects (((heat))) Louisville, Kentucky August 2nd – September 6th, 2019 Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Conspiratorial Aesthetics at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts: Why does so much new art look conspiratorial? Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Picasso to Pollock: Modern Masterworks from the Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University at the Speed Art Museum Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
2018 Keltie Ferris: *O*P*E*N* at the Speed Art Museum: Casualist Painting / Not-cAsual SetTing Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
donottellmewhereibelong: drawing and sculpture by Joan Tanner Curated by Julien Robson Cressman Center for Visual Arts / Hite Art Institute / Department of Fine Arts / University of Louisville Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Benjamin Cook: History Abridged at Swanson Contemporary, Louisville, Kentucky August 15th – September 22nd Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Artist Interview for Aeqai: Megan Bickel interviews Photographer, Bill Daniel Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Critical Mass II // Critical Discourse and Engagement in Kentucky Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Sweet Dreams // Sheherazade // Louisville KY Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Nick Cave: FEAT. // The Frist Center for Visual Art // Nashville, Tennesse Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
A Brief Elaboration of a Tube: Letita Quesenberry and Aaron Rosenblum at Huff Gallery (Spalding University) Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
BRUCE CONNER: FOREVER AND EVER // Speed Art Museum Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Failure in Progress // Zephyr Gallery Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Team B Architecture and Design Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
2017 Gibbs Rounsavall
Paul Mpagi Sepuya: Portraits / Positions In Conjunction with the Louisville Biennial Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Poetry in Bars and Other Solutions Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
99 Cents or Less // MOCAD Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Southern Elegy: The Stephen Reily Collection // Speed Museum at University of Louisville Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft // The Drawing Center: “Thread Lines” Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Maxime Van Melkebeke Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Zephyr Gallery: Project 17: Ritual Geography Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Fern Canyon: Paintings by Claire Sherman at the KMAC Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Painting in the Network: Algorithm and Appropriation at University of Louisville’s Cressman Center for the Arts Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio
Paige Williams Aeqai Cincinnati, Ohio