Works by Anya Spielman
Anya Spielman is an American abstract painter. Her work explores the constellation of binary forces and forms, presenting reoccurring two-fold images: the tension between knowing and not knowing, being seen and unseen, humanity and inhumanity. She lives and works in the Los Angeles area.
Education
Anya Spielman studied at the University of California, Davis, where she earned a B.A in 1989 with a major in Art Studio and a minor in Anthropology. She was a student of Wayne Thiebaud, and after graduating, she continued to be mentored by him.
Technique
Spielman uses oil paint on canvas, paper and panel in various sizes; she works on up to forty paintings at a time, moving between them as each begins to form, then isolating a work to bring to completion. Her saturated surfaces are luminous, with alternate glossy and matte layers, but also bear rough nail marks that scar and deconstruct the work. These etched lines and marks relate to an image and idea, and are often the underlying structure, the submerged language of a work.
Her use of reds and pinks link to flesh and blood, and the pale creams, yellows and blues in her palette often recall bodily fluids, and the pulse of life.
Inspiration
A curiosity for what lies beneath surfaces initially drove Spielman to draw from cadavers, and in conceptualizing the underlying strata of a form it became clear that the dissection process is linked to the painting process. A painter's painter, she is captivated by the physicality of the act of painting, the intensity of saturated color and human motivation.
Collections
Spielman's works are present in numerous private and public collections, mostly based in the US but also internationally, including the permanent collection of the US Department of State, which acquired a 54"x124" oil on paper, "Weightless", as part of their Art In Embassies Program (AIE). This work is displayed in the U.S. Embassy of Monterrey, Mexico.
Exhibitions
Spielman has exhibited extensively in the US in solo and group exhibitions. She as well showcased internationally in group exhibitions in Canada, Uruguay and Argentina.
Her work has been also featured in various art fairs including Select Fair NYC, Aqua Art Miami, Art Fair 21 Cologne, and Bridge Art Fair in London.
Spielman's paintings have also appeared on the hit reality TV shows "The Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "The Bachelorette," and in several motion pictures.
Solo Exhibitions
2012
Naughty Cream , Window Project, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
2010
New Works , 618 NW Glisan St., Portland, OR
2007
Stung , Michael Rosenthal Contemporary Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA
New York Series - Falling , Caffe Museo, SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA
2002
New Work , 108 Bowery, New York, NY
1997
Beneath," Terrain Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1996
Science/Art Synthesis , The Pence Gallery, Davis, CA
1994
Memory Stones , Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
New Works , Albany Arts Gallery, Albany, CA
1993
Archeology of Mind , Shenandoah Gallery, Plymouth, CA
Group Exhibitions
2017
Black Box, Boeckercontemporary, Heidelberg, Germany. On tour to: Künstlerhaus Saar, Saarbrücken Germany, to the La 'S' Grand Atelier, Vielsalm Belgium, the Faux Mouvement, Centre
d'art contemporain, Metz France and the Casino Luxemburg, Forum d'art contemporain, Luxemburg.
Shapeshifting Superheavies, NIAD Art Center, Richmond, CA. Curated by Jessica Snow. (Online Catalogue)
A Call To Action, Kustera Projects Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY
2016
The Great California Art Movement, 1960s-1990s: UC Davis Fine Art Alumni Exhibition, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA (Catalogue)
It Waits Upon the Lawn, t project, Portland, OR
2014
Select Fair NYC , New York
2013
Gallery Favorites , Murdoch Collections, Portland, OR
2012
Prints for PICA , Portland, OR
Flat Files Show , White Box Gallery, New York, NY
2011
Prints for PICA , Portland, OR
Frank Shell Tour , Portland, OR
2010
Prints for PICA , Portland, OR
2009
Prints for PICA , Portland, OR
TALENT PReVIEW ’09 5 Curators, 5 Gallerists Select 5 Artists Each , White Box Galle ry, New York, NY
2008
Aqua Art Miami , Miami, FL
Art Fair 21 , Cologne, Germany
Art Now , New York, NY
2007
Red Dot Fair , Michael Rosenthal Contemporary Art, Miami, FL
Bridge Art Fair , London, UK (Catalogue)
American Embassy , Art in Embassies Program , Montevideo, Uruguay
2006
Toybox Holiday Benefit , White Box Gallery, at Robert Miller Gallery, New York, NY
2004
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Auction , SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA (Catalogue)
2003
Groundswell Benefit , White Columns Gallery, New York, NY
2002
POP Culture Road Show , NY, Miami, Chicago
Lucky Draw , Deitch Projects, New York, NY
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Auction , SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA (Catalogue)
2001
Art Miami , Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, FL
Palm Springs International Art Fair , Palm Springs, CA
LA Modernism Show , Santa Monica, LA
2000
Gallery Artists' Exhibition , Art Smart, San Francisco, CA
1998
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Auction , SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA (Catalogue)
Lef Foundation/Villa Mein Exhibition , Yountville, CA
29th Annual Juried Exhibition , Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA Juror: Janet Bishop - Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture at SFMOMA; Artists Council Award
1997
Art is Vital Gallery , Calgary, Alberta
1996
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Auction , SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA (Catalogue)
Painting Exhibition , John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
US Art Fair , San Francisco, CA
1995
Oscar Wilde: A Man of Great Importance , Terrain Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Artists Salon , Lecture/Exhibition given to SFMOMA
Introductions , Terrain Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Status Report: Seven Years of Artist Projects/Programs/Exhibitions , Terrain Gallery, San Francisco, CA
US Art Fair , San Francisco, CA
Breakfast at the Galleries , with the opening of new SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA
The Figure , John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
1994
Homage to the Bard , Terrain Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Art Los Angeles 1994 , The International Contemporary Art Fair, Los Angeles, CA
New Images , Center for the Visual Arts, Oakland, CA Juror: Phil Linhares, Curator of the Oakland Museum of Art
Bay Area Women Artists' Exhibition , Agnes Bourne Gallery, San Francisco, CA
US Art Fair , San Francisco, CA
LA Modernism Show , Santa M onica, CA
Crocker Art Auction Exhibition, Live Auction , Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
1993
The Walter Buehler Gallery , Davis, CA
1992
UC Davis Alumni and Faculty Exhibition , the Walter Buehler Gallery, Davis, CA
The Weir Gallery , Berkeley, CA
1989
Crocker Art Auction Exhibition , Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
2017
"Shapeshifting Superheavies," NIAD - Catalogue by Jessica Snow, essay by Scott Hewicker, Richmond, CA (March)
Price, Kimberly Gail, The Red Hook Star + Review, "Protest Art in Red Hook" (March)
Martin, Alison, Artefuse, "A CALL TO ACTION at Kustera Projects," (March)
2014
Paintings featured in The Oregonian – Tower house in NW Portland inspired by medieval Scottish lookout (Portland Modern Home Tour) – (March 26)
Paintings featured in The New York Times – Great Homes & Destinations – Tower House. Portland, OR (January, 3)
2013
Painting featured in The New York Times – Great Homes & Destinations – “ Putting Their Stamp on It ” Slide #6 (October, 17)
2010
New Museum’s Bowery Artist Tribute -- http://mediaspace.newmuseum.org/boweryartisttribute/
2007
“ ART in Embassies Exhibition: Montevideo, Uruguay ,” Catalogue prepared by the U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C., September 2007. (pp 26 -- 27)
Bridge Art Fair , London, UK, Catalogue (p.95)
2001
Zweig, Linda, SFMOMA Modern Art Council Newsletter - Art Scene (November)
1996
Moyle, Marilyn, The Davis Enterprise, “ Abstract Art is Blossoming at Area Galleries,” (March)
Wilson, Karen, The Californi a Aggie, “ Pence Gallery Blends Art, Science in Exhibit, ” (February)
1995
Moyle, Marilyn, The Davis Enterprise, Weekend Feature Section – “ Exhibit Shows Variety is the Spice of Life and Art ” (February)
1994
Stanford Campus Report (September)
Berkeley Voice – Front Page of Scene Section (May)
2013
Joan Mitchell Foundation Award Nominee, New York, NY
2007
US EMBASSY American Artists Abroad Program, Montevideo, Uruguay Selected as an Art - Ambassador to exhibit and teach in Montevideo.
2000
Vermont Studio Center Artist’s Grant
1998
Artists Council Award, Palm Springs Desert Museum; “29th Annual Juried Exhibition.” Juror: Janet Bishop – Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture at SFMOMA
1994
Nominated by Wayne Thiebaud for the American Academy & Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, NY