My creative practice has always been a way to reflect on personal and family identity. I grew up in a small cultural community in Montana, with a Filipino immigrant mother and a multigenerational white Montanan father. Their arranged marriage set the scene for my understanding of culture and belonging. In my paintings, I stage personified hands as characters suspended within moments of code-switching and self-perception. Duality is a central theme, seen visually through contrasts such as black and white, saturation and desaturation; through the tension of real and imagined, and simultaneous feelings like grief and nostalgia. These characters are often confronting contrasts in mirrors and screens that serve as both reflective surfaces as well as barriers between the different versions of themselves. Inspired by family memories and American film and TV programming like Hanna-Barbera cartoons and Disney Channel, I utilize recurring archetypes to explore their cultural influence on personal identity in relation to family dynamics. Across paintings, installation, and writing, my work explores memory and the evolving awareness of belonging.
April Werle
april.werle@gmail.com
b. 1995, Helena, Montana
Lives and works in Missoula, Montana
April Werle is a narrative painter depicting mixed-race identity, memory, and diaspora through personified hand characters. She grew up in Montana in a blended Filipino family formed through her parents' arranged marriage. Her recent solo exhibitions include Our Sometimes Home, Glacier Art Museum; I Live With a Ghost, PlatteForum; and My Other Half, The Chase Gallery. Her work has also been exhibited at Brea Gallery and the Montana Museum of Art and Culture. Werle completed a residency at PlatteForum and the Emerging Artist Residency at Centrum Foundation. She was awarded the Creative West Artist Fund Award, as well as the ARPA Grant and the Strategic Investment Grant from the Montana Arts Council. Her work has been featured in New American Paintings and Create! Magazine.
Solo Exhibitions
2027 (forthcoming) The Family Channel, Bryan Oliver Gallery, Whitworth University, Spokane, WA
2026 Our Sometimes Home, Glacier Art Museum, Kalispell, MT
2025 I Live With a Ghost, PlatteForum, Denver, CO
2025 My Other Half, Chase Gallery, Spokane, WA
2024 Secret Life of a Multicultural Couple, Bell Projects, Denver, CO
2023 Halo-Halo: The Mixed Children, Zootown Arts Community Center, Missoula, MT
2022 Mga Hunghong Sa Diwata (Whispers of Spirits), Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT
Selected Group Exhibitions
2026 A Homecoming: Alumni Invitational, Gallery of Arts, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
2026 Mixed Feelings: Existing in the Space Between, Brea Gallery, Brea, CA
2025 Brown Palms, Yellow Balms: Reinventing Caregivers of Color, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA; curated by O.M. France Viana
2025 19 Under 39, Montana Museum of Art and Culture, Missoula, MT
2024 - 2022 Co-Flourish, Touring Exhibition organized by Open AIR, Schoolhouse History & Art Center, Colstrip, MT; Mondak Heritage Center, Sidney, MT; Glacier Art Museum, Kalispell, MT; Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT
2023 Acts of Liberation, The Other Art Fair LA, Santa Monica, CA; curated by Taylor Bythewood-Porter
2022 Imaging the Sacred, Missoula Art Museum, Missoula, MT
Selected Awards + Residencies
2026 Artist-in-Residence, Open AIR
2025 Artist-in-Residence, PlatteForum
2024 Emerging Artist Residency, Centrum
2024 Artist Fund Award, Creative West
2023 Strategic Investment Grant, Montana Arts Council
2022 ARPA Grant, Montana Arts Council
Selected Bibliography
2027 (forthcoming) “As Seen on TV: The Myth of the Montanan Identity.” By April Werle. Montana 12,250. Montana Arts Council
2026 The Filipino Art Dispatch, Artist Spotlight: April Werle
2025 New American Paintings, Issue 180
2024 Create! Magazine, Issue 47
2024 Artwork Archive, “Why This Artist’s ‘Hands-on’ Depiction of Mixed-Race Stories Is So Powerful”
2024 Art Squat Magazine, Issue 9
2024 Mahalaya, “Between Manila and Montana: April Werle’s Artistic Exploration of Mixed-Race Identity, Belonging, and Family”
2024 State of the Arts, Winter Issue. Montana Arts Council
2023 New Visionary Magazine, Issue 8
Selected Artist Talks + Visits
2027 (forthcoming) Visiting Artist, Whitworth University
2026 Panelist, A Homecoming: Alumni Invitational, Gallery of Arts, University of Montana
2026 Artist Presentation, Open AIR
2025 Artist Talk, 19 Under 39 Exhibition, Montana Museum of Art and Culture
2024 Keynote Address, “Embracing Multicultural Identity”, Asian Student Interracial Association, Montana State University
Professional Affiliations
2023 - Present Asian American Women Artists Association
Education
2017 BFA, University of Montana