Ann Carter

Exhibited artist

Education:
Bachelor of Creative Arts, UNC Charlotte (1982)
Master of Fine Arts, Rutgers University

Ann Carter came to UNC Charlotte in 1971 as an English major, but a summer ceramics wheel-throwing class ignited her interest in becoming an artist. Though she left UNC Charlotte for a period to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts, she eventually returned and earned a Bachelor of Creative Arts with a focus on painting in 1982.

It was in her last semester that Ann had the opportunity to work with Maud Gatewood, the founder of what is now the Department of Art & Art History.

“Maud was a large presence and at first I was inhibited when she came into the studio” she told Associate Professor of Art History Jim Frakes in an interview for his publication on the department’s 60th anniversary. “I soon came to believe that she saw me as capable and authentic and eager. And I listened carefully to her questions and feedback. She was always specific in her response to my paintings, and offered detailed suggestions, but she also shared general thoughts and advice about painting that have resonated with me over the years. One time Maud said to me, ‘Ann, go to your studio every day, even if all you do is sweep the floor.’”

After graduating from UNC Charlotte, Ann earned a Master of Fine Arts from Rutgers University and led a successful career in the arts for more than a decade, with multiple fellowships, exhibitions, and teaching positions. She later left academia and became a physical therapist, but returned to full-time art-making in 2019.

“Painting,” Ann told Frakes,“ is currently my focus, and it is through an abstract language that I find the most rich vehicle for communication.”

“Homage,” her work for the Generations exhibition in honor of the 60^th anniversary of the Department of Art & Art History, is placed in conversation with Maud Gatewood’s “Drive-In.” See it here.