Artist Statement
Cortney McNamara is an emerging artist from Rochester, New York, currently working in Tampa after receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Tampa, with a concentration in photography and sculpture.
In her younger years, she moved often from place to place, forming a desire to find methods for preserving fading memories and capturing the ephemeral. Her current work explores curiosities of time and memory.
Through photographic and sculptural approaches, she locates methods to preserve memories and construct critical fictions. Archival, alternative photographic processes parallel the endless deterioration of lived experience and the fragility of perception. Sculptural processes of casting and woodworking juxtapose one another to highlight wood’s decline into decay and resin’s ability to preserve. This creative practice involves dissolving the boundaries of disciplines and creating space for constructing moments of suspended reflection.
Curriculum Vitae
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Bachelor of Fine Arts, Photography and Sculpture
The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL. 2024. -
2026
Gallery’s Choice Award
3rd Annual Juried Members’ Exhibition
HC Art Galleries | Tampa, FL | Juror: Ry McCullough
May 2026 – July 20262025
1st Place Award
Artists Helping Artists 1×1
SRQ East Studios | Sarasota, FL | Juror: Mary Davis Wallace
March 2025 – April 20252024
Charlene Gordon Award Recipient
The University of Tampa | Tampa, FLGillespie Award Recipient
Women’s Caucus for Art Florida Chapter | Tampa, FLMost Outstanding Studio Artist
The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL2022
Most Outstanding Foundations Student
The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL2021+
Dean’s List
The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL | Fall 2021 – May 20242019+
Presidential Scholarship
The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL | Fall 2019 – May 2024 -
2026
3rd Annual Juried Members’ Exhibition
HC Art Galleries | Tampa, FL | Juror: Ry McCullough
May 2026 – July 2026National Association of Schools of Art and Design Exhibition,
Scarfone/Hartley Gallery | Tampa, FL | Juror: Michele Smith
March 2026 – May 20262025
Vice & Virtue Juried Show
Art Center Sarasota | Sarasota, FL | Juror: Jessica Todd
May 2025 – August 202599 Bottles
Florida CraftArt | St. Petersburg, FL | Juror: Rachel Rearick
May 2025 – July 2025Annual Juried Members’ Exhibition
HCC Art Galleries | Tampa, FL | Juror: Amanda Cooper
May 2025 – June 2025Always Welcome : In Honor of Dorothy
Ferman Center for the Arts | The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL | July 2024 – June 2025Tampa Regional Artists : 18th Bay Area Exhibit
Old Hyde Park Art Center | Tampa, FL | Juror: Joanna Robotham
May 2025 – June 2025Artists Helping Artists 1×1
SRQ East Studios | Sarasota, FL | Juror: Mary Davis Wallace
March 2025 – April 20252024
Sculpture Student Showcase
Ferman Center for the Arts | The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL | August 2024 – November 2024BFA Capstone Exhibition
Scarfone/Hartley Gallery | Tampa, FLStudent Juried Show
Scarfone/Hartley Gallery | The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL | Juror: Jessica Todd2023
Members’ Show
Florida Museum of Photographic Arts | Tampa, FLStudent Photography Exhibition
Ferman Center for the Arts | The University of Tampa | Tampa, FLStudent Juried Show
Scarfone/Hartley Gallery | The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL | Juror: Nathan Beard“Homecoming,” SPE National Exhibition
Rocky Mountain College | Denver, CO | Juror: Jess T. Dugan2022
Evening of Experimental Dance
Scarfone/Hartley Gallery | The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL“Redbloom” RISE Grant Exhibition
Scarfone/Hartley Gallery | The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL“Redbloom” Rise Grant Exhibition
Ferman Center of the Arts | The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL2021
Student Juried Show
Scarfone/Hartley Gallery | The University of Tampa | Tampa, FL
Recent Exhibitions
To view a full list of exhibitions, click here
3rd Annual Members’ Juried Exhibition
HC Art Galleries: Ybor Campus
Tampa, FL
May 2026 - July 2026
Gallery’s Choice Award
National Association of Schools of Art and Design Exhibition
Scarfone/Hartley Gallery
Tampa, FL
March 2026 - May 2026
Vice & Virtue Juried Show
Art Center Sarasota Sarasota, FL May 2025 - August 2025
Artists Helping Artists 1×1
SRQ East Studios
Sarasota, FL
March 2025 - April 2025
Unspoken, 2024
Hollow Currents, 2022
1st Place Award for Unspoken