About renée

Baltimore County
Renée Rendine received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (1996) and an MFA in sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University (1999). She was a recipient of a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship in 2000 and was awarded a fellowship to study in Italy by the Atlantic Center for the Arts that same year. Rendine received a Baker Artist Awards B-Grant in 2015 as well as Maryland Sate Arts council individual Artist Grants in 2005, 2009, and 2016. Selected exhibitions include the… more

billow

sculptural installation and performance at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

A field of disposable surgical caps, stiffened with starch and supported by a monofilament net, filled the Corcoran's grand atrium. Delineated by skylights in the floor, the field referenced a floating swimming pool and revealed a perch-like skirt structure. I began the performance on the perch by erasing a water-soluble ink drawing and then retreated below the surface. From beneath the field I sprayed water into the air, allowing moisture to wilt caps surrounding the perch. As I worked I tugged on the net and manipulated the surface, causing the whole area to tremble. Small gestures were amplified across a great distance, like a spider activating its web.
  • billow
    billow
    4000+ surgical caps were starched and placed on the surface of a monofilament net, supported by a steel armature. In the beginning of the performance I erased a water-soluble ink drawing on fabric. I then retreated below the surface and sprayed water into the air in order to wilt the surrounding field.
  • billow
    billow
    4000+ surgical caps were starched and placed on the surface of a monofilament net, supported by a steel armature. In the beginning of the performance I erased a water-soluble ink drawing on fabric. I then retreated below the surface and sprayed water into the air in order to wilt the surrounding field.
  • billow
    billow
    4000+ surgical caps were starched and placed on the surface of a monofilament net, supported by a steel armature. In the beginning of the performance I erased a water-soluble ink drawing on fabric. I then retreated below the surface and sprayed water into the air in order to wilt the surrounding field.
  • billow
    billow
  • billow
    billow
    4000+ surgical caps were starched and placed on the surface of a monofilament net, supported by a steel armature. In the beginning of the performance I erased a water-soluble ink drawing on fabric. I then retreated below the surface and sprayed water into the air in order to wilt the surrounding field.
  • billow
    billow
    4000+ surgical caps were starched and placed on the surface of a monofilament net, supported by a steel armature. In the beginning of the performance I erased a water-soluble ink drawing on fabric. I then retreated below the surface and sprayed water into the air in order to wilt the surrounding field.
  • billow
    billow
    4000+ surgical caps were starched and placed on the surface of a monofilament net, supported by a steel armature. In the beginning of the performance I erased a water-soluble ink drawing on fabric. I then retreated below the surface and sprayed water into the air in order to wilt the surrounding field.
  • billow
    billow
    4000+ surgical caps were starched and placed on the surface of a monofilament net, supported by a steel armature. In the beginning of the performance I erased a water-soluble ink drawing on fabric. I then retreated below the surface and sprayed water into the air in order to wilt the surrounding field.
  • billow
    billow
    4000+ surgical caps were starched and placed on the surface of a monofilament net, supported by a steel armature. In the beginning of the performance I erased a water-soluble ink drawing on fabric. I then retreated below the surface and sprayed water into the air in order to wilt the surrounding field.
  • billow
    billow
    4000+ surgical caps were starched and placed on the surface of a monofilament net, supported by a steel armature. In the beginning of the performance I erased a water-soluble ink drawing on fabric. I then retreated below the surface and sprayed water into the air in order to wilt the surrounding field.

seep and ebb

Insects encase themselves for protection, to create a place where metamorphosis can occur. Utilizing their own secretions, they produce raw materials from which they build. For me, the insect is a metaphor for human behavior. Like insects we are defined by the physical inevitability of our cycles of growth and reproduction, as well as our social need for physical labor.

I have explored these parallels by constructing sculptural costumes that encase my body and resemble cocoons, and then further developed these structures through performance. Exploring the concepts of change and transformation I encase myself in a structure that provides both a covering for my body, as well as a site for an activity. My motion is restricted, and I engage in a repeated action that involves the movement of a material from one part of the structure to another. This process alludes to cannibalism, and also imparts ideas of self-sufficiency implicit in such a closed system.

In one work, entitled Loop, I crocheted a cocoon of tubes to envelop my body like a circulatory system. I sucked on one end of the continuous circuit, drawing fluid from the other end of the long tube, anchored in a pouch on my belly. In another, Seep, my dress extended from my body to become a landscape, its perimeter far beyond my reach. I dipped a 12-foot ladle into a trough of water to slowly dissolve the dress from the hem to the bodice.

In these and in all of my works, the elements are constructed through a laborious process of weaving, braiding, or sewing. They are then activated in performance through a similar process of methodical alteration. I share the space intimately with my audience and communicate not only through sight and movement, but also sound and touch. Utilizing temporal materials such as gelatins, fluids, or water-soluble plastics, I speak to the notion of time and change. These are repetitive actions that build and transform a work, like a spider, strand by strand, spinning a web, or a wasp, layer by layer, building a nest.
  • ebb
    ebb
  • ebb
    ebb
    performance utilizing water-soluble plastic, water, implements Situated in the innermost chamber of three hanging cylinders I melted an aperture into the center of each water-soluble circle. Once the innermost chamber was fully activated I could reach my implement through the holes to melt the secondary (and later tertiary) holes. My progress revealed my presence throughout the performance. Once all three layers were activated I tunneled out and into the neighboring structure.
  • ebb
    ebb
    performance utilizing water-soluble plastic, water, implements Situated in the innermost chamber of three hanging cylinders I melted an aperture into the center of each water-soluble circle. Once the innermost chamber was fully activated I could reach my implement through the holes to melt the secondary (and later tertiary) holes. My progress revealed my presence throughout the performance. Once all three layers were activated I tunneled out and into the neighboring structure.
  • ebb
    ebb
    performance utilizing water-soluble plastic, water, implements Situated in the innermost chamber of three hanging cylinders I melted an aperture into the center of each water-soluble circle. Once the innermost chamber was fully activated I could reach my implement through the holes to melt the secondary (and later tertiary) holes. My progress revealed my presence throughout the performance. Once all three layers were activated I tunneled out and into the neighboring structure.
  • ebb
    ebb
    performance utilizing water-soluble plastic, water, implements Situated in the innermost chamber of three hanging cylinders I melted an aperture into the center of each water-soluble circle. Once the innermost chamber was fully activated I could reach my implement through the holes to melt the secondary (and later tertiary) holes. My progress revealed my presence throughout the performance. Once all three layers were activated I tunneled out and into the neighboring structure.
  • seep
    seep
    performance utilizing water-soluble plastic, water, implements I drew water from a basin, using a ladle that functioned as a sieve, and systematically dissolved my environment from hem to bodice. My activity began slowly and gracefully, drizzling water along the perimeter. As I progressed in my task movements became more frenzied. I struggled to bring the telescoping ladle in close to my body before losing all of the water through the sieve.
  • seep
    seep
    performance utilizing water-soluble plastic, water, implements I drew water from a basin, using a ladle that functioned as a sieve, and systematically dissolved my environment from hem to bodice. My activity began slowly and gracefully, drizzling water along the perimeter. As I progressed in my task movements became more frenzied. I struggled to bring the telescoping ladle in close to my body before losing all of the water through the sieve.
  • seep
    seep
    performance utilizing water-soluble plastic, water, implements I drew water from a basin, using a ladle that functioned as a sieve, and systematically dissolved my environment from hem to bodice. My activity began slowly and gracefully, drizzling water along the perimeter. As I progressed in my task movements became more frenzied. I struggled to bring the telescoping ladle in close to my body before losing all of the water through the sieve.
  • seep
    seep
    performance utilizing water-soluble plastic, water, implements I drew water from a basin, using a ladle that functioned as a sieve, and systematically dissolved my environment from hem to bodice. My activity began slowly and gracefully, drizzling water along the perimeter. As I progressed in my task movements became more frenzied. I struggled to bring the telescoping ladle in close to my body before losing all of the water through the sieve.

wake and vent

Wake was a precursor to Billow. Disposable surgical cap, stiffened with water-soluble plastic stood at attention on the surface of a fishing net. The sculpture occupied a room in the gallery and could only be viewed from the entrance of the doorways. From beneath the surface I sprayed water up into the air allowing droplets to rain down and collapse the field from the center outward. Tiny movements were amplified as I tugged the net and jostled the caps. A small interruption traveled a great distance, similar to the wake created by a vessel at sea.

Vent also referenced a field (or transplanted pool), employed a mechanic's cart, and mimicked travel through water. On the cart, I appeared to glide as if underwater, while creating small vents in the surface membrane. I drew water in through a length of tube and used my own respiration to propel water vertically though the center of each bubble-shaped form. The activity alluded to the natural world, suggesting a whale purging its blow hole, but the geometry, lighting, and handiwork of the sculpture were unequivocally human.
  • Sacrifice! (Rainbow)
    Sacrifice! (Rainbow)
    2014, hand-painted acrylic on Mylar, 11 x 14 inches.
  • Untitled 5
    Untitled 5
    Acrylic on Canvas, 72" x 84"
  • Aztec Mask (Rainbow Superfly)
    Aztec Mask (Rainbow Superfly)
    2014, hand-painted acrylic on Mylar, 11 x 14 inches.
  • vent
    vent
    water-soluble plastic, water, monofilament, implements
  • vent
    vent
    water-soluble plastic, water, monofilament, implements
  • wake
    wake
    water-soluble plastic, water, disposable paper caps, monofilament, implements
  • Untitled 3
    Untitled 3
    Acrylic & Collage on Cut Canvas, 72" x 86"
  • Altar (Pride)
    Altar (Pride)
    2014, hand-painted acrylic on Mylar, 11 x 14 inches.
  • Untitled 2
    Untitled 2
    Acrylic on Canvas, 72" x 86"
  • Untitled 6
    Untitled 6
    Acrylic on Canvas, 72" x 84"

swell and hem

Insects encase themselves for protection, to create a place where metamorphosis can occur. Utilizing their own secretions, they produce raw materials from which they build. For me, the insect is a metaphor for human behavior. Like insects we are defined by the physical inevitability of our cycles of growth and reproduction, as well as our social need for physical labor.

I have explored these parallels by constructing sculptural costumes that encase my body and resemble cocoons, and then further developed these structures through performance. Exploring the concepts of change and transformation I encase myself in a structure that provides both a covering for my body, as well as a site for an activity. My motion is restricted, and I engage in a repeated action that involves the movement of a material from one part of the structure to another. This process alludes to cannibalism, and also imparts ideas of self-sufficiency implicit in such a closed system.

In one work, entitled Loop, I crocheted a cocoon of tubes to envelop my body like a circulatory system. I sucked on one end of the continuous circuit, drawing fluid from the other end of the long tube, anchored in a pouch on my belly. In another, Seep, my dress extended from my body to become a landscape, its perimeter far beyond my reach. I dipped a 12-foot ladle into a trough of water to slowly dissolve the dress from the hem to the bodice.

In these and in all of my works, the elements are constructed through a laborious process of weaving, braiding, or sewing. They are then activated in performance through a similar process of methodical alteration. I share the space intimately with my audience and communicate not only through sight and movement, but also sound and touch. Utilizing temporal materials such as gelatins, fluids, or water-soluble plastics, I speak to the notion of time and change. These are repetitive actions that build and transform a work, like a spider, strand by strand, spinning a web, or a wasp, layer by layer, building a nest.
  • hem
    hem
    Accordion-pleated aluminum window screening sheathed three trees. Over a period of several months, a material designed to keep insects out of human environments became a temporary dwelling for insects.
  • hem
    hem
    Accordion-pleated aluminum window screening sheathed three trees. Over a period of several months, a material designed to keep insects out of human environments became a temporary dwelling for insects.
  • hem
    hem
    Accordion-pleated aluminum window screening sheathed three trees. Over a period of several months, a material designed to keep insects out of human environments became a temporary dwelling for insects.
  • swell
    swell
    Trees were encased in sheaths of plastic cups and cable ties. The plastic structures stood approximately 20ft. high and were inhabited by cicadas over the five month exhibition.
  • swell
    swell
    Trees were encased in sheaths of plastic cups and cable ties. The plastic structures stood approximately 20ft. high and were inhabited by cicadas over the five month exhibition.
  • swell
    swell
  • swell
    swell
  • swell
    swell
    Trees were encased in sheaths of plastic cups and cable ties. The plastic structures stood approximately 20ft. high and were inhabited by cicadas over the five month exhibition.
  • Untitled (Marble)
    Untitled (Marble)
    Wax, MDF, stucco, plaster, expanding foam Installation: Variable dimension
  • swell
    swell

temper

Insects encase themselves for protection, to create a place where metamorphosis can occur. Utilizing their own secretions, they produce raw materials from which they build. For me, the insect is a metaphor for human behavior. Like insects we are defined by the physical inevitability of our cycles of growth and reproduction, as well as our social need for physical labor.

I have explored these parallels by constructing sculptural costumes that encase my body and resemble cocoons, and then further developed these structures through performance. Exploring the concepts of change and transformation I encase myself in a structure that provides both a covering for my body, as well as a site for an activity. My motion is restricted, and I engage in a repeated action that involves the movement of a material from one part of the structure to another. This process alludes to cannibalism, and also imparts ideas of self-sufficiency implicit in such a closed system.

In one work, entitled Loop, I crocheted a cocoon of tubes to envelop my body like a circulatory system. I sucked on one end of the continuous circuit, drawing fluid from the other end of the long tube, anchored in a pouch on my belly. In another, Seep, my dress extended from my body to become a landscape, its perimeter far beyond my reach. I dipped a 12-foot ladle into a trough of water to slowly dissolve the dress from the hem to the bodice.

In these and in all of my works, the elements are constructed through a laborious process of weaving, braiding, or sewing. They are then activated in performance through a similar process of methodical alteration. I share the space intimately with my audience and communicate not only through sight and movement, but also sound and touch. Utilizing temporal materials such as gelatins, fluids, or water-soluble plastics, I speak to the notion of time and change. These are repetitive actions that build and transform a work, like a spider, strand by strand, spinning a web, or a wasp, layer by layer, building a nest.
  • temper
    temper
    water-soluble plastic, water, implements
  • temper
    temper
  • temper
    temper
    water-soluble plastic, water, implements
  • temper
    temper
    water-soluble plastic, water, implements
  • temper
    temper
    water-soluble plastic, water, implements

loop

Exploring the concepts of change and transformation I encased myself in a structure that provided both a covering for my body, as well as a site for an activity. My motion was restricted, and I engaged in a repeated action that involved the movement of a material from one part of the structure to another. This process alluded to cannibalism, and also imparted ideas of self-sufficiency implicit in such a closed system.

In Loop, I crocheted a cocoon of tubes to envelop my body like a circulatory system. I sucked on one end of the continuous circuit, drawing fluid from the other end of the long tube, anchored in a pouch on my belly.
  • Sharing a Reason for Not Sharing
    Sharing a Reason for Not Sharing
    Sharing, a reason for not sharing. I don’t want to look at them. Just go. Too much revealed. A totalitarian place,. A choice but no choice. We wander. 11:11. Tomorrow. Another day. Retract, too much. Maybe by the river. A place of escape. But on they rumble. I don’t want to look at them. I do that too much. A way to find. Repeat. Sharing but not sharing. 24"x30"
  • Frame Sculpture
    Frame Sculpture
    Wood, Cardboard, Acrylic, Thread

hair pieces

Insects encase themselves for protection, to create a place where metamorphosis can occur. Utilizing their own secretions, they produce raw materials from which they build. For me, the insect is a metaphor for human behavior. Like insects we are defined by the physical inevitability of our cycles of growth and reproduction, as well as our social need for physical labor.

I have explored these parallels by constructing sculptural costumes that encase my body and resemble cocoons, and then further developed these structures through performance. Exploring the concepts of change and transformation I encase myself in a structure that provides both a covering for my body, as well as a site for an activity. My motion is restricted, and I engage in a repeated action that involves the movement of a material from one part of the structure to another. This process alludes to cannibalism, and also imparts ideas of self-sufficiency implicit in such a closed system.

In one work, entitled Loop, I crocheted a cocoon of tubes to envelop my body like a circulatory system. I sucked on one end of the continuous circuit, drawing fluid from the other end of the long tube, anchored in a pouch on my belly. In another, Seep, my dress extended from my body to become a landscape, its perimeter far beyond my reach. I dipped a 12-foot ladle into a trough of water to slowly dissolve the dress from the hem to the bodice.

In these and in all of my works, the elements are constructed through a laborious process of weaving, braiding, or sewing. They are then activated in performance through a similar process of methodical alteration. I share the space intimately with my audience and communicate not only through sight and movement, but also sound and touch. Utilizing temporal materials such as gelatins, fluids, or water-soluble plastics, I speak to the notion of time and change. These are repetitive actions that build and transform a work, like a spider, strand by strand, spinning a web, or a wasp, layer by layer, building a nest.
  • Untitled: Samples of space
    Untitled: Samples of space
    Untitled: Samples of space(Variable installation/ different length of thermometers from 10 to 23cm/ 2013) Artwork of converting space to sign. Three different thermometers that respectively measure temperature of the floor, center, and ceiling are connected as a triangular shape. Four different thermometers adjusted to different temperature are connected as a rectangular shape. Also, the adjustment of lines of temperatures on different thermometers made an irregular line up in the lengths and this makes the observer acknowledge of the space and shape of thermometers.
  • hives
    hives
    horse hair, paper, steel
  • The Complexity of Shadows
    The Complexity of Shadows
    Acrylic on Raw Canvas 52"x36"
  • bristle
    bristle
    human hair, thread, starch
  • breathe
    breathe
  • Untitled 7
    Untitled 7
    Acrylic on Canvas, 72" x 72"
  • Untitled 8
    Untitled 8
    Acrylic on Canvas, 72" x 80"
  • node
    node

lure

crocheted fishing line

A decidedly manmade material behaves like something organic. Serving as a giant fiber optic under direct light, the subtle piece demands attention from a distance, and alludes to a fishing lure.

Lure was a companion piece to Decoy. Drawings represented the shape-shifting properties of the crocheted fishing line sculpture, and served as a decoy to the sculpture in a concurrent exhibition.
  • lure
    lure
    crocheted fishing line
  • lure
    lure
    crocheted fishing line
  • lure
    lure
    crocheted fishing line
  • lure
    lure
    crocheted fishing line
  • lure
    lure
    crocheted fishing line

decoy

ink and pencil

8"x10" drawings on shrinkable plastic were shrunk down to approximately 2"x3"

Decoy was a companion piece to Lure. Drawings represented the shape-shifting properties of the crocheted fishing line sculpture sculpture, and served as a decoy to the sculpture in a concurrent exhibition.

Decoy was inspired by the poet, Amy Eisner, and was created in tandem with two of her poems.
  • decoy
    decoy
    colored pencil and ink on shrinkable plastic
  • decoy
    decoy
    colored pencil and ink on shrinkable plastic
  • decoy
    decoy
    colored pencil and ink on shrinkable plastic
  • decoy
    decoy
    colored pencil and ink on shrinkable plastic
  • decoy
    decoy
    colored pencil and ink on shrinkable plastic

bouyant

An eight-foot diameter dome constructed from cardboard tubes, paper, paint and glue occupied the gallery. The mouth of each tube was covered with a membrane of water-soluble plastic. During the performance I occupied the dome and used a small stream of water (from latex water balloons) to systematically dissolve each membrane. I began at the top of the dome and worked my way down the interior walls. From outside, as I progressed, my presence was revealed through various apertures in the tubes. The structure resembled a life-size snow globe with a gradually receding water level.
  • rendine_5150-copy.jpg
    rendine_5150-copy.jpg
  • bouyant
    bouyant
    cardboard tubes, water-soluble plastic, water, paper, paint, glue, latex
  • bouyant
    bouyant
    cardboard tubes, water-soluble plastic, water, paper, paint, glue, latex
  • bouyant
    bouyant
    cardboard tubes, water-soluble plastic, water, paper, paint, glue, latex
  • bouyant
    bouyant
    cardboard tubes, water-soluble plastic, water, paper, paint, glue, latex
  • bouyant
    bouyant
    cardboard tubes, water-soluble plastic, water, paper, paint, glue, latex
  • bouyant
    bouyant
    cardboard tubes, water-soluble plastic, water, paper, paint, glue, latex
  • bouyant
    bouyant
    cardboard tubes, water-soluble plastic, water, paper, paint, glue, latex
  • bouyant
    bouyant
    cardboard tubes, water-soluble plastic, water, paper, paint, glue, latex
  • bouyant
    bouyant
    cardboard tubes, water-soluble plastic, water, paper, paint, glue, latex