James Siena
Encyclopedia
James Siena is an American Abstract Expressionist artist based in New York City
. His art is typically created through a series of self-imposed constraints also sometimes referred to as visual algorithms —rules Siena decides on before sitting down to work. In most of his work he establishes a basic unit and action and repeats it indefinitely. Siena commented that, "at a certain point I wanted to make drawings and works that act as machines. The way they act as machines is you have to find your way into them and find your way out of them. As you undo the making of them they come to life."
Asked to name the teacher who most influenced him, Siena quickly cites Mary Croston, an after-school art instructor who taught him as a teenager. Croston treated her young students as “real” artists, says Siena, introducing them to such tools as charcoal and graphite and coaching them in figure drawing. “She just taught the basics; that was very influential,” he says of those classes in the “art hut” behind Croston’s house in Stanford, California. Siena also remembers being “very moved” by the late Peter Kahn, who taught the history of techniques at Cornell. According to Siena, “He was a marvelous Renaissance man” who taught his students such skills as determining whether paper is archival quality and making ink out of toast crumbs and saliva.
When Siena opted to move to New York rather than attend graduate school after finishing his B.F.A. at Cornell University, he found plenty of mentors in the local art community. He was impressed by the “very independent, visionary spirit” of Alan Saret, who took him to the scrap yard and taught him about working with metal. Chuck Close helped him understand “very obvious stuff” like how to approach a relationship with a gallery (Close likened it to a “conversation”) and how to maximize earnings from day jobs to spend more time painting. Before being able to become an artist full-time Siena supported himself as a frame maker.
Prior to becoming an established and recognized visual artist, James Siena was known for his performance art, which included singing and rapping with his now ex-wife Iris Rose and Chazz Dean. Most notably he appeared on Cinemax's TV series "Dangerous Film Club" during the 1987 season of the show.
His work has been featured in over 50 group exhibitions, including most notably the Whitney Museum of American Art
's 2004 Whitney Biennial
. Siena has had work either reviewed or published in the following publications: Art in America, The New York Times, The New Yorker, ARTnews, The Art Newspaper, The Village Voice, New York Sun, San Francisco Chronicle and Art on Paper.
In Patricia Phillips, chair of the Department of Art, Cornell University; letter of Siena's nomination for the 2009-10 Eissner Artist of the Year Award, she wrote:
Siena has also played muse for other artists including being a subject for paintings and sculpture by Joe Fig and multiple works of art by Chuck Close
.
Siena also appeared on camera in the 2008 documentary film, Herb and Dorothy
by Megumi Sasaki. The film is about the long-time New York contemporary art collector couple, Herbert and Dorothy Vogel
.
Becoming more rare among notable artists, Siena uses no assistants in the creation of his paintings and drawings.
James Siena has been represented by The Pace Gallery (formerly PaceWildenstein
) since 2005.
Siena also completed several artist-in-residency program, most notably at the Yaddo
artist community (located in Saratoga Springs, New York) in 2004, and was elected a Member of the Board at Yaddo in 2008.
“When I make a painting, I respond to a set of parameters, like a visual algorithm. These structuring devices are subject to the fallibility of my hand, and my mind’s ability to complete the work as planned.”
“I think my paintings are for unlocking thought, in some way. But I think they’re also about giving satisfaction – looking at something that is satisfying, and yet unusual."
Siena was invited to ULAE by Larissa Goldston in the summer of 2003. Although he had been making prints for years, he came to ULAE specifically to explore stone lithography.
A complete list of printmakers that Siena has issued prints under can be found in the External Links section of this article.
The second, printed in 2005 was a limited edition of 200 copies of "Spring" (an excerpt from a larger work entitled, "The Weather") by Kenneth Goldsmith. Siena contributed five 2-color wood engravings with each book. Each book is signed by the author, Kenneth Goldsmith and Siena. Edition was published by Didymous Press, a moniker used by INC, inc. for their self-published works.
The third book project, published in 2009, is a limited edition of 50 copies titled, "Oaths? Questions?" in partnership with Marjorie Welish. This book of poetry by Welish is really a collaboration with Siena's artwork and the words, printed on transparent pages plays off of the artwork. James Siena commented about the book:
has also issued two series of hand-knotted wool rugs based on James Siena designs. The rugs are similar to artworks in that they are made in limited numbered quantities along with artists proofs and each is signed by the artist. The two designs are entitled Global Key, 2009 (Edition of 15 + 2 APs) and Nine Constant Windows, Second Version, 2009 (Edition of 18 + 2 APs).
. Artists whose work has been shown at the gallery include the Brooklyn artist David Brody. As Time Out New York magazine comments, "This tiny, artist-run space has no website but showcases venerable artists established on the New York scene. One example of the propietor's collection of antique typewriters is on view at all times in the gallery."
Siena is known for his affinity towards, knowledge and collection of vintage typewriters and has commented that he owns over 100 typewriters and enjoys the sometimes novel approaches earlier manufacturers took in solving problems or creating enhancements to their typewriters.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His art is typically created through a series of self-imposed constraints also sometimes referred to as visual algorithms —rules Siena decides on before sitting down to work. In most of his work he establishes a basic unit and action and repeats it indefinitely. Siena commented that, "at a certain point I wanted to make drawings and works that act as machines. The way they act as machines is you have to find your way into them and find your way out of them. As you undo the making of them they come to life."
Early Years and Influences
James Siena was born in Oceanside, California in 1957 and moved to New York in 1975 to attend Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He received his Bachelors of Fine Art (BFA) in 1979 from Cornell.Asked to name the teacher who most influenced him, Siena quickly cites Mary Croston, an after-school art instructor who taught him as a teenager. Croston treated her young students as “real” artists, says Siena, introducing them to such tools as charcoal and graphite and coaching them in figure drawing. “She just taught the basics; that was very influential,” he says of those classes in the “art hut” behind Croston’s house in Stanford, California. Siena also remembers being “very moved” by the late Peter Kahn, who taught the history of techniques at Cornell. According to Siena, “He was a marvelous Renaissance man” who taught his students such skills as determining whether paper is archival quality and making ink out of toast crumbs and saliva.
When Siena opted to move to New York rather than attend graduate school after finishing his B.F.A. at Cornell University, he found plenty of mentors in the local art community. He was impressed by the “very independent, visionary spirit” of Alan Saret, who took him to the scrap yard and taught him about working with metal. Chuck Close helped him understand “very obvious stuff” like how to approach a relationship with a gallery (Close likened it to a “conversation”) and how to maximize earnings from day jobs to spend more time painting. Before being able to become an artist full-time Siena supported himself as a frame maker.
Prior to becoming an established and recognized visual artist, James Siena was known for his performance art, which included singing and rapping with his now ex-wife Iris Rose and Chazz Dean. Most notably he appeared on Cinemax's TV series "Dangerous Film Club" during the 1987 season of the show.
Rise to Notoriety
Siena started making abstract paintings with an aesthetic that sought inspiration from Artificial Intelligence (AI). For years he has been investigating the imaginary space of programmers' source and patterns through paint. At first glance the images could be labeled as decorative puzzles or labyrinths but there is a logic base for each painting. Siena's first major solo show was held at the Brooklyn, NY gallery, Pierogi 2000 in 1996. His first solo museum exhibition took place in 2003 at the San Francisco Art Institute Gallery. Since then he's had numerous solo shows including at Gorney Bravin + Lee in New York, Daniel Weinstein in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and The Pace Gallery in New York.His work has been featured in over 50 group exhibitions, including most notably the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
's 2004 Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
. Siena has had work either reviewed or published in the following publications: Art in America, The New York Times, The New Yorker, ARTnews, The Art Newspaper, The Village Voice, New York Sun, San Francisco Chronicle and Art on Paper.
In Patricia Phillips, chair of the Department of Art, Cornell University; letter of Siena's nomination for the 2009-10 Eissner Artist of the Year Award, she wrote:
- "James Siena is one of the most inventive, independent, focused and prolific artists working today. … Thirty years after he received his B.F.A. from Cornell, Siena has emerged as one of the art world's internationally respected leaders. … [He] balances the traditions of 20th–21st century abstraction with a maverick sensibility to craft salient, if speculative, insights on the contemporary world, and the intricate workings of human perception."
Siena has also played muse for other artists including being a subject for paintings and sculpture by Joe Fig and multiple works of art by Chuck Close
Chuck Close
Charles Thomas "Chuck" Close is an American painter and photographer who achieved fame as a photorealist, through his massive-scale portraits...
.
Siena also appeared on camera in the 2008 documentary film, Herb and Dorothy
Herb and Dorothy
Herb and Dorothy is a documentary film by Megumi Sasaki. The film tells the story of two middle-class collectors of contemporary art, Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, and the enormous and valuable collection of conceptual art and minimalist art they amassed...
by Megumi Sasaki. The film is about the long-time New York contemporary art collector couple, Herbert and Dorothy Vogel
Herbert and Dorothy Vogel
Herbert Vogel and Dorothy Vogel are American art collectors. Herbert Vogel was the son of a Russian Jewish garment worker from Harlem. He never finished high school and worked as a clerk for the United States Postal Service until retiring in 1980...
.
Becoming more rare among notable artists, Siena uses no assistants in the creation of his paintings and drawings.
James Siena has been represented by The Pace Gallery (formerly PaceWildenstein
PaceWildenstein
The Pace Gallery is a contemporary and modern art gallery founded by Arne Glimcher in Boston 1960 as The Pace Gallery. The gallery moved to Manhattan in 1963 and from 1993 to 2010 operated jointly with Wildenstein & Co. as PaceWildenstein. There are three locations in Manhattan and one in...
) since 2005.
Lecturer and Teacher
Siena lectures and teaches at numerous institutions throughout the United States, including at:- School of Visual ArtsSchool of Visual ArtsThe School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
; New York City, New York (2010, 2003)
- Pratt Munson-Williams-Proctor InstituteMunson-Williams-Proctor Arts InstituteThe Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute is a regional fine arts center founded in 1919 and located in Utica, New York. The institute has three program divisions:*Museum of art*Performing arts*School of art-Museum of art:...
; New York City, New York (2010)
- Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
; Ithaca, New York (2010)
- The Museum of Modern Art; New York City, New York(2009)
- Virginia Commonwealth UniversityVirginia Commonwealth UniversityVirginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...
; Richmond, Virginia (2009, 2002, 1999)
- Cooper Union School of ArtCooper UnionThe Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
; New York City, New York (2009)
- Cleveland Institute of ArtCleveland Institute of ArtThe Cleveland Institute of Art is a private college of art and design located in University Circle, Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women. From 1891 until 1948 it was named Cleveland School of Art. During the Great Depression the school...
; Cleveland, Ohio (2004)
- San Francisco Art InstituteSan Francisco Art InstituteSan Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
; San Francisco, California (2003)
- Skidmore CollegeSkidmore CollegeSkidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
; Saratoga Springs, New York (2000)
Siena also completed several artist-in-residency program, most notably at the Yaddo
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."...
artist community (located in Saratoga Springs, New York) in 2004, and was elected a Member of the Board at Yaddo in 2008.
Notable Quotes
“I don’t make marks. I make moves.”“When I make a painting, I respond to a set of parameters, like a visual algorithm. These structuring devices are subject to the fallibility of my hand, and my mind’s ability to complete the work as planned.”
“I think my paintings are for unlocking thought, in some way. But I think they’re also about giving satisfaction – looking at something that is satisfying, and yet unusual."
Awards
James Siena has received several awards during his tenure as a professional visual artist. Some notable awards are listed below:- 2009-2010 Eissner Artist of the Year Award, Cornell University
- 2000 Award in Art, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York
- 1999 Lewis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Award
- 1996 Visiting Artist State University of New York at Albany
- 1995 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Painting
- 1994 Fellowship in Painting, New York Foundation for the Arts
- 1979 Charles Goodwin Sands Medal, Cornell University
- 1977 Edward Durrell Stone Award, Cornell University
Prints
James Siena is becoming known for having a wide variety of prints and lithographs made available of his work from some of the most recognized art presses including Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE), Harlan & Weaver and Pace Prints. In particular, Harlan & Weaver have published several individual prints and two portfolios of nine prints with Siena. The close proximity of their studios has helped to foster an enduring working relationship.Siena was invited to ULAE by Larissa Goldston in the summer of 2003. Although he had been making prints for years, he came to ULAE specifically to explore stone lithography.
A complete list of printmakers that Siena has issued prints under can be found in the External Links section of this article.
Books
James Siena has contributed illustrations or accompanying prints for three books. The first in 2003, was artwork, including the cover, for a book of poems by Geoffrey Young, entitled "Lights Out", published by the small press, The Figures.The second, printed in 2005 was a limited edition of 200 copies of "Spring" (an excerpt from a larger work entitled, "The Weather") by Kenneth Goldsmith. Siena contributed five 2-color wood engravings with each book. Each book is signed by the author, Kenneth Goldsmith and Siena. Edition was published by Didymous Press, a moniker used by INC, inc. for their self-published works.
The third book project, published in 2009, is a limited edition of 50 copies titled, "Oaths? Questions?" in partnership with Marjorie Welish. This book of poetry by Welish is really a collaboration with Siena's artwork and the words, printed on transparent pages plays off of the artwork. James Siena commented about the book:
- "To summarize an Artist’s Book in a statement raises questions as to its very utility. But there were needs to be met in my first collaboration with Marjorie Welish, and they can be verbalized. So: no summary, just a run-down of issues and urges. Among them was the urgent desire to make something quite unlike a print, painting, or drawing. To make a Book in all its Bookness, sequential, teleological, inevitable. As well as strange, of course. To tell the story of a making of something, to undo it, page by page. So this book takes us apart and puts us back together again, none the worse for wear, but certainly not the same as before. And the words offer hints to the truth (oaths) and doubts about them as well (questions). Their very transparency evidences the debt they owe to the wordless visual." - James Siena
Rugs
The art gallery BravinLeeBravinLee programs
BravinLee programs is a contemporary art gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The gallery's programs support the exhibition of works on paper, artist books, public art projects, and artist-designed hand-knotted rugs....
has also issued two series of hand-knotted wool rugs based on James Siena designs. The rugs are similar to artworks in that they are made in limited numbered quantities along with artists proofs and each is signed by the artist. The two designs are entitled Global Key, 2009 (Edition of 15 + 2 APs) and Nine Constant Windows, Second Version, 2009 (Edition of 18 + 2 APs).
Gallery
James Siena also runs a small project gallery called: Sometimes (Works of Art) located on Canal StreetCanal Street (Manhattan)
Canal Street is a major street in New York City, crossing lower Manhattan to join New Jersey in the west to Brooklyn in the east . It forms the main spine of Chinatown, and separates it from Little Italy...
. Artists whose work has been shown at the gallery include the Brooklyn artist David Brody. As Time Out New York magazine comments, "This tiny, artist-run space has no website but showcases venerable artists established on the New York scene. One example of the propietor's collection of antique typewriters is on view at all times in the gallery."
Works in Museums & Institutions
Works by James Siena are part of the permanent collection of the following museums/institutions:- Bowdoin College Museum of ArtBowdoin College Museum of ArtThe Bowdoin College Museum of Art is an art museum located in Brunswick, Maine. Included on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum is located in a building on the campus of Bowdoin College designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White.-History:The museum's collection...
; Brunswick, Maine
- Colby College Museum of ArtColby College Museum of ArtFounded in 1959, the Colby College Museum of Art now comprises four wings, more than 6,000 works, and more than of exhibition space. The Museum's permanent collection specializes in American and contemporary art...
; Waterville, Maine
- Daum Museum of Contemporary Art; Sedalia, Missouri
- Des Moines Art CenterDes Moines Art CenterThe Des Moines Art Center is an art museum with an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture, modern art and mixed media. It was established in 1948 in Des Moines, Iowa.-Description:...
; Des Moines, Iowa
- Herbert F. Johnson Museum of ArtHerbert F. Johnson Museum of ArtThe Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art is an art museum located on the northwest corner of the Arts Quad on the main campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It is most well known for its distinctive concrete facade, its collection which includes two windows from Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin...
at Cornell University; Ithaca, New York
- McNay Art MuseumMcNay Art MuseumThe McNay Art Museum, founded in 1950 in San Antonio, is the first modern art museum in the State of Texas. The museum was created by Marion Koogler McNay's original bequest of most of her fortune, her important art collection and her 24-room Spanish Colonial Revival-style mansion that sits on ...
, San Antonio, Texas
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art; New York City, New York
- Miami Art MuseumMiami Art MuseumThe Miami Art Museum is an art museum located in Downtown Miami, Florida, in the United States. It was founded in 1984 as the Center for the Fine Arts, and in 1996 became the Miami Art Museum...
; Miami, Florida
- Milwaukee Art MuseumMilwaukee Art MuseumThe Milwaukee Art Museum is located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Beginning around 1872, multiple organizations were founded in order to bring an art gallery to Milwaukee, as the city was still a growing port town with little or no facilities to hold major art exhibitions...
; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Museum of Fine ArtsMuseum of Fine Arts, BostonThe Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
; Boston, Massachusetts
- The Museum of Modern Art; New York City, New York
- Philip Morris Collection; New York City, New York
- Progressive Corporation; Cleveland, Ohio
- San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtSan Francisco Museum of Modern ArtThe San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
; San Francisco, California
- Sheldon Memorial Art GallerySheldon Memorial Art GalleryThe Sheldon Museum of Art is located at 12 & R Streets in Lincoln, Nebraska, on the city campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The Sheldon houses both the Sheldon Art Association collection , and the University of Nebraska collection, initiated in 1929. Together they comprise more than...
; Lincoln, Nebraska
- Hammer Museum at UCLA; Los Angeles, California
- Wake Forest UniversityWake Forest UniversityWake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
Print Collection; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Whitney Museum of American ArtWhitney Museum of American ArtThe Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
; New York City, New York
- Yale University Art GalleryYale University Art GalleryThe Yale University Art Gallery houses a significant and encyclopedic collection of art in several buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Although it embraces all cultures and periods, the Gallery possesses especially renowned collections of early Italian painting,...
; New Haven, Connecticut
Personal life
James Siena is currently married to the artist, Katia Santibañez. They were featured jointly in the Ferrin Gallery's group show, COUPLES from 2010. Siena currently splits his time between homes in western Massachusetts (the Berkshires) and New York City and maintains a studio on Canal Street.Siena is known for his affinity towards, knowledge and collection of vintage typewriters and has commented that he owns over 100 typewriters and enjoys the sometimes novel approaches earlier manufacturers took in solving problems or creating enhancements to their typewriters.
External links
Printmakers and Print Programs who have collaborated with James Siena on prints include:- Center for Contemporary Printmaking (2009 Mystery Artist)
- Flying Horse Editions (University of Central Florida)
- Harlan & Weaver
- Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project (2006)
- Lower East Side Printshop
- Neptune Fine Art/Brand X Projects
- Pace Prints
- Polígrafa Obra Gráfica
- Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE)