JANE ROSEN
Born New York, NY 1950
B.A., New York University 1972
Art Students League 1975
Biography
Painter, sculptor, and printmaker Jane Rosen has dedicated her career to exploring the laws of nature. On the one hand, Rosen's work is complex in its search for a thread of continuity that runs throughout all life forms. Her artistic dialogue is equally multi-dimensional, as it combines the traditional ideas of such artists as Leonardo da Vinci and a post-minimalist rejection of "clean" shapes and textures. At the same time, Rosen is committed making her art accessible to all. Although she does not necessarily intend to create uplifting art, she wants it to be meaningful.
So important to Rosen was her investigation of nature that she left her native New York ten years ago to live on a ranch in California. She sought to immerse herself in an environment "where nature is larger than culture." According to Rosen, our daily encounters with cultural symbols override such natural instincts as knowing the contours of the human body. Therefore, Rosen attempts to reconnect with her instincts by not just simply drawing the human figure as she sees it, but as if she were actually touching it. By experiencing the human form on more than one level, she better understands her own being and communicates with the viewer about how his or her being may relate to it.
Often, her work also incorporates animal figures, for which "animal nature [acts as a] key to understanding our own nature." As she creates the figures with her hands, the process of art-making inevitably engages a kind of understanding that stretches beyond regular cognition. It is this heightened state of awareness that leads Rosen to view animals and humans as though they share the same essence.
For Rosen, art is a language through which she can explore these questions that her mind alone cannot fully grasp. In the process, she hopes to inspire and activate the viewer to contemplate life's possibilities.
Solo Exhibitions
2007 Gwenda Jay / Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL, Re:incarnations.
2007 Sears-Peyton Gallery, New York, NY, Mei Mei Series
2006 Friesen Gallery, Seattle, WA. Tracking
2005 Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID; Wheel of Nature
2004 Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA; Coastal Influence
2003 Alpan Gallery, Huntington, NY
2002 Sears-Peyton Gallery, New York, NY; Small Scale
1998 Byron Cohen Gallery, Kansas City, MO; Reading Tea Leaves
1996 Joan Roebuck Gallery, Lafayette, CA
1995 Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, NY, Movement and Rest
Colgate University Art Museum, Hamilton, NY, Movement and Rest
1993 Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, NY; Better Nature
Joan Roebuck Gallery, Lafayette, CA
1992 Mincher-Wilcox Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1990 Mincher-Wilcox Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1989 Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, NY; Sun/Moon
1988 Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, NY; Oak Island Studies
1987 Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, NY; Forming
1982 Edward Thorp Gallery, New York, NY
1980 Edward Thorp Gallery, New York, NY
1978 Edward Thorp Gallery, New York, NY
1975 Lamagna Gallery, New York, NY
1974 80 Washington Square East Gallery, New York, NY
Group Exhibitions
2007 Migration, Friesen Gallery, Seaattle, WA.
2006 From Nature, Gwenda Jay/Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL
About Glass, Friesen Gallery, Seattle, WA
Shifting into Balance, Buckhorn Sculpture Park, Petaluma, CA
Alignment, Friesen Gallery, Seattle, WA
2005 Judy Pfaff, Jane Rosen, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Speaking Volumes, curated by Judith Tolnick Champa, Fine Art Center Galleries, University of Rhode Island, R.I.
2004 Group Show, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Mode and Ceremony, curated by Dan Kany, Friesen Gallery, Seattle, WA
Ten and a Billion, curated by Jane Salvin, Heritage Bank, San Jose, CA
2003 Squeak Carnwath, Judy Pfaff, Jane Rosen: Drawings, Sears-Peyton Gallery, New York, NY
From Surface to Form, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
Medium Rare, curated by Dan Kany, Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
2002 Contemporary Sculpture, 505 Montgomery, San Francisco, CA, curated by Art Source
Darkness and Brightness, Sears-Peyton Gallery, New York, NY
25th Anniversary Show, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
2001 On the Wall / Off the Wall, Gwenda Jay / Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL, curated by Gwenda Jay
Limited Editions, Phoenix Arts Commission, Phoenix, AZ.
Invent / Imagine, Hewlett Packard, Palo Alto, CA, curated by Art Source
Kick Back, Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California at Berkeley, CA
2000 Looking Towards the Future, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Rental Gallery, CA
Boom Boom, Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California at Berkeley, CA
Material Transformations, A.T. Kearney, San Francisco, CA, curated by
the San Francisco Art Institute and Art Source
Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
1998 Faculty Show, Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California at Berkeley, CA
Drawn Together, Drawn Apart, Judy Pfaff, Jane Rosen, Kendall Fine Art, Hudson, NY
Flora, Elise Goodheart Fine Arts, Sag Harbor, NY, curated by Douglas Maxwell
1997 Visiting Artists, Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California at Berkeley, CA
Spring Benefit Show, Sculpture Center, NY
1979-1997, Visual Arts Gallery, New York, NY, curated by Jerry Saltz
The Horse as Icon, Mirren Gallery, CA
On the Rim, Transamerica, San Francisco, CA, curated by Tessa Wilcox of Art Source
1996 Reynard, Rosen, Spheris Gallery, NH
Sculpture: Review / Preview, Cohen Berkowitz Gallery, Kansas City, MO
1995 Paper View, Cohen Berkowitz Gallery, Kansas City, MO
The Organic, Greene County Council on the Arts, Catskills, NY
The Body as Metaphor, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Sculpture, Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, NY
Visiting Artists, Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California at Berkeley, CA
1994 1994-1995 Preview, Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, NY
1993 Inaugural Exhibition, Evans, Gropper, Willis Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Breaching Containment, The Gallery, Three Zero, NY
Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, NY
1991 40 Years of Exhibitions, Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, NY
1990 Group Show, Mincher-Wilcox Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1989 CLIMATE 89, Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, NY
1988 Art on Paper 1988, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro, NC
Sculpture / On the Wall / On the Floor, Katzen-Brown Gallery, New York, NY
1987 New York-Beijing: 22 American Artists Works on Paper, Beijing Art Institute,
Shanghai Art Museum, China, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY
Constructs, Anita Shapolsky, New York, NY
The Human Form / The Spiritual Vision, Alexander Wood Gallery, New York, NY
The Level of Volume, Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Alternative Supports: Contemporary Sculpture on the Wall, David Winton Bell Gallery,
List Art Center, Brown University, Providence, RI
1986 Illuminations: The Art of our Future, Art et Industrie, New York, NY
Universal Images: People and Nature in Sculpture, 909 Third Avenue, New York, NY
Martina Hamilton Gallery, New York, NY
1985 Avenue C by the Sea, Tower Gallery, Southhampton, New York, NY
Deeker Gallery, Maryland Institute College, Baltimore, MD
1982 Agitated Figures: The New Emotionalism, Hallwalls, Buffalo, NY, curated by Hal Bromm
1981 Edward Thorp Gallery, New York, NY
Figuratively Sculpting, Art and Urban Resources, P.S. 1, Queens, New York, NY
1980 Edward Thorp Gallery, New York, NY
Sculptures, Proctor Art Center, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, NY
Current/New York, Joe and Emily Lowe Gallery, Syracuse, NY
1979 Webb and Parsons Gallery, New Canaan, CT
Edward Thorp Gallery, New York, NY
1978 Private Myths, the Queens Museum, Queens, NY
Constructs, Organization of Independent Artists, New York, NY
1976 Approaching Painting, Ashford Hollow Foundations, Buffalo, NY
1975 112 Greene Street, New York, NY
Painting Alive and Well, Brainard Art Gallery, State University of New York at Potsdam
Awards
1999 Artist in Residence, Pilchuck Glass School, Seattle, Washington
1988 MADEIN / Luso-American Foundation Grant
1982-83 CAPS, Full Award in Sculpture
1980-81 NEA, Full Award in Sculpture
Collections
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO
Brooklyn Museum, NY
Chase Manhattan Bank, NY
Chevron Corporation, CA
Ciba-Geigy Chemical Corporation, Ardsley, NY
Grace Borgenicht, NY
Luso American Foundation, Portugal
The Mallin Collection, Buckhorn Sculpture Park, CT
Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester, University of Rochester, NY
Mitsubishi Corporation, LA
Novell, Provo, UT
Phoenix Arts Commission, Phoenix, AZ
Proskauer, Rose, Goetze and Mendelsohn, NY
Prudential Insurance Company, Newark, NJ
Scottsdale Museum of Art, Scottsdale, AZ
U. S. Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia
Yellowstone Museum, Billings, MT
Bibliography
2006 Matthew Kangas, The Seattle Times, October 2005.
2005 Doug Norris, “URI ias ‘Speaking Voumes’ in latest exhibition
North-East Independent Journal , June 30, 2005
Baker, Kenneth. "Pfaff and Rosen at Braunstein/Quay", San Francisco Chronicle, April 16, 2005.
2002 Byrne, Chris. The Original Print: Understanding Technique in Contemporary Fine Printmaking, Guild Publications, 2002.
Catalog, Fine Art Collection of the U. S. Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia, October 2002.
1998 Braff, Phyllis. Art Reviews, New York Times, August 9, 1998.
Gambino, Erica-Lynn. "Symbolism in Two Shows", Southampton Press, August 8, 1998.
D'Arcy, Joan. "Exhibits pays homage to ...", Daily Freeman, Kingston, February 20, 1998.
1996 Thorson, Alice . "Group Counterpoint", Kansas City Star, June 21, 1996.
1995 Whittaker, Richard. "Jane Rosen: Artist and Teacher", T.S.A., Winter, 1994/95.
1993 Hodder, Monroe. "For Pleasure," Artweek, November 4, 1993.
Bowen, Dorothy. "Bird's eye view of art gallery," Contra Costa Sun, Oct. 24, 1993.
"Hawks inspire. . .," Contra Costa Sun, October 12, 1993.
Phillips, Patricia C. Review, Artforum, Summer, 1993.
1990 Bass, Ruth. Review, ARTNews, April 1990.
1988 Gibson, Eric. "Nature and Sculpture: A New Subjectivity Takes Root,"
Sculpture, September / October 1988.
Yau, John. Artforum, March 1988
1987 Westfall, Stephen. Art in America, July 1987.
Gibson, Eric. Review, Sculpture, May / June 1987.
Sofer, Ken. Review, ARTNews, May 1987.
1982 Klein, Michael. Review, ARTNews, October 1982.
Friedman, Jon. Review, Arts, September 1982.
Smith, Roberta. "Group Flex," The Village Voice, June 22, 1982.
Flood, Richard. "Agitated Figures: The New Emotionalism," catalogue,
Hallwalls, Buffalo, NY, 1982.
Siegel, Jeanne. "The New Reliefs," Arts, April 1982.
1978 Siegel, Jeanne. "Recent Colored Reliefs," Arts, September 1978.
Loring, John. Review, Art in America, May / June 1978.
Bell, Tiffany. Review, Arts, May 1978.
Ellenzweig, Allen. "Private Myths," catalogue, the Queens Musuem, 1978.
Glueck, Grace. "Greater SoHo-Spring Guide to Downtown Art World,"
New York Times, March 31, 1978.
1975 Review, Arts, December 1975.
Review, Arts, January 1975.
