Mary Borgman was born in 1959 in St. Louis, Mo. She received a B.F.A. in graphic communications at Washington University in 1982. She then went on to receive her M.A. and M.F.A. at Fontbonne College in St. Louis, Missouri in 2001. In 2002, Ann Nathan Chicago began representing Mary Borgman's artwork at annual exhibitions in the gallery and art shows in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Santa Fe. Borgman was a semifinalist at Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition in 2009 at the National Portrait Gallery in the Smithsonian Institute which lead to her own exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute's National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. Seven of Borgman's large scale charcoal drawings were exhibited for ten months in a show called Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge. Her National Portrait Gallery show then moved from the Smithsonian Institute to the Arkansas Art Center. In addition to numerous articles and reviews, her art was recently published in Drawing Magazine's charcoal issue, Charcoal Gaze, winter issue, 2016. Borgman is included in various public collections including the 21C Museum in Louisville, Tullman collection in Chicago, and the Mott-Warsh collection, Flint Michigan. Her artwork has been shown in the Arnot Art Museum in New York, the Muskegon Museum of Art in Michigan, the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, and the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art in St. Louis. Mary Borgman's art is currently represented by Gallery Victor Armendariz in Chicago.

Mary Borgman’s work captivates the viewer in several ways. First is their scale. They hang like medieval tapestries, with figures standing as tall as eight feet. There is also their texture – created by using charcoal on Mylar, and the results are richly gestural, with distinct charcoal strokes and eraser marks animating the figure and ground alike. With a flat surface, she creates volume and life. And perhaps the most powerful of all, the viewer is caught be the gazes of the models, who stare forcefully out of the picture. They seem to be examining us every bit as much as we are examining them.

These larger-than-life portraits stem from chance encounters that grow into meaningful connections between the artist and her subject. Most are strangers that she approaches on the street. They capture her attention with expressive eyes that show experience and wisdom, distinctive shapes and a casual body language. “I try to honor the people I am drawing by centering them in the format and shooting from slightly below their eye level. I choose an expression that exudes intelligence, self-awareness and complexity. I try to convey their humanness. I want the viewer to feel this person might be someone interesting to know”, says Borgman of her subjects. The intensity with which she conveys the eyes may stem from her many years of communicating in sign language, which is based on sustained eye contact.

Borgman loves the directness of drawing. It is immediate, there is no lag time. There is no time waiting for the paint to dry. She works solely in charcoal which she can manipulate to achieve varying degrees of darkness and opacity. It is messy and the artist loves that.

Mary Borgman was born in 1959 in St. Louis, Mo. She received a B.F.A. in graphic communications at Washington University in 1982. She then went on to receive her M.A. and M.F.A. at Fontbonne College in St. Louis, Missouri in 2001. Borgman was a semifinalist at the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition in 2009 at the National Portrait Gallery. This lead to her own exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute's National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. Seven of Borgman's large scale charcoal drawings were exhibited for ten months in a show called Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge. Her National Portrait Gallery show then moved from the Smithsonian Institute to the Arkansas Art Center.

Mary Borgman’s work captivates the viewer in several ways. First is their scale. They hang like medieval tapestries, with figures standing as tall as eight feet. There is also their texture – created by using charcoal on Mylar, and the results are richly gestural, with distinct charcoal strokes and eraser marks animating the figure and ground alike. With a flat surface, she creates volume and life. And perhaps the most powerful of all, the viewer is caught be the gazes of the models, who stare forcefully out of the picture. They seem to be examining us every bit as much as we are examining them.

These larger-than-life portraits stem from chance encounters that grow into meaningful connections between the artist and her subject. Most are strangers that she approaches on the street. They capture her attention with expressive eyes that show experience and wisdom, distinctive shapes and a casual body language. “I try to honor the people I am drawing by centering them in the format and shooting from slightly below their eye level. I choose an expression that exudes intelligence, self-awareness and complexity. I try to convey their humanness. I want the viewer to feel this person might be someone interesting to know”, says Borgman of her subjects. The intensity with which she conveys the eyes may stem from her many years of communicating in sign language, which is based on sustained eye contact.

Borgman loves the directness of drawing. It is immediate, there is no lag time. There is no time waiting for the paint to dry. She works solely in charcoal which she can manipulate to achieve varying degrees of darkness and opacity. It is messy and the artist loves that.

Mary Borgman was born in 1959 in St. Louis, Mo. She received a B.F.A. in graphic communications at Washington University in 1982. She then went on to receive her M.A. and M.F.A. at Fontbonne College in St. Louis, Missouri in 2001. Borgman was a semifinalist at the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition in 2009 at the National Portrait Gallery. This lead to her own exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute's National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. Seven of Borgman's large scale charcoal drawings were exhibited for ten months in a show called Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge. Her National Portrait Gallery show then moved from the Smithsonian Institute to the Arkansas Art Center.

With obvious large brushstrokes, jarring color, and brooding subjects, Wesley Kimler’s paintings establishes a direct emotional connection between the artist and the artwork. Pulling from surrealism, figuration, abstraction, and street art, Wesley produces theatrically colossal works full of emotion and energy.

This male nude charcoal drawing is beautifully rendered in splendid detail, down to the individual hairs on his legs. The viewer begs the question of why the subject is here. We are not given answers yet perhaps something lies just beyond the edge of the frame where an unexplained light source illuminates the subject's feet. This large scale drawing is unframed.

Woman with Black Gloves is an eloquent charcoal rendering by Guadalajara native Shuta Ruelas. The subject is gazing down and covering her breasts as if we have walked in on a very private moment. This large scale drawing on paper is unframed.

The two nude female figures appear to be asleep. The calmness of the piece is accentuated by the fine pencil drawing. The piece is unframed. Contact the gallery for framing options.

The female figure in Oliver Benson's "Lady of the Temple" is drawn in exquisite detail. This fine drawing is floated on a mat board and framed in a silver frame