Residency #132
FEBRUARY 16 – MARCH 8
Application Deadline: CLOSED

JAMES SIENA, visual arts

Consisting of a multitude of tightly interwoven marks, James Siena’s compositions speak through formal constructions of repeating patterns and interlocking lines. Each work displays an alternative system, where, according to Siena, “the reality of abstraction is the primary point of engagement,” elaborating further, “I make moves… when I make a painting I respond to a set of parameters, like a visual algorithm.” James Siena (b. 1957, California) received his BFA from Cornell University, New York, in 1979. Siena’s work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at galleries including Pierogi 2000 in Brooklyn, Gorney Bravin + Lee in New York, Daniel Weinberg in Los Angeles and PaceWildenstein in New York and over 55 group exhibitions throughout the world including the 2004 Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial. The recipient of multiple honors and awards, Siena received an Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York (2000); the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Competition Award (1999); and The New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Painting (1994). Siena lectures and teaches at numerous institutions throughout the US, including the Cleveland Institute of Art, Ohio; San Francisco Art Institute; School of Visual Arts, New York; Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York; and the Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond.  Siena completed an artist-in-residency program at Yaddo in 2004 and 2007, and recently was elected a Director of Yaddo. James Siena currently lives and works in New York City and the Berkshires.

James Siena’s work can be found in numerous public collections including the Des Moines Art Center, Iowa; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; Museum of Fine Art, Boston; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, Missouri; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Philip Morris Collection, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Residency Statement

While each artist residency focuses on individual development, I also see a strong need to develop a group dynamic among the Associates. With this in mind, the focus of the residency will include a daily one hour group meeting at a time to be determined (so as not to interfere with studio). As needed, Associates may schedule individual critiques dealing with actual work in studio. General and theoretical discussions will be largely reserved for group meetings. The diverse array of readings assigned, many of which will not relate directly to theory, speak to the world we live in and issues outside the contemporary (and often times overly insular) art world. A marathon group critique will occur near the end of the session to discuss Associates’ work.

Application Requirements

Applicants should submit a short biography, a CV and 10-15 images (preferably digital) or up to 30 minutes of video (DVD to be viewed on Mac) of finished work, with documentation (title, dimensions, date and materials). An artist statement is optional.