ART CITIES:Paris-James Siena
James Siena is a seminal artist on the New York art scene. His work, by turns lithographs, engravings, drawings and paintings, involves complex geometrical abstractions established on the basis of a set of rules or “visual algorithms”. The mathematical rigour of the process does not, however, exclude the presence of the artist’s hand and the fragility of a gesture which is constantly repeated.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Xippas Gallery Archive
A pivotal artist from the New York art scene, James Siena is renowned for his elaborate abstract forms based on a combination of self-imposed restrictions – base units that he repeats – and unforeseen events.James Siena’s solo exhibition “Cascade Effect” features seven large-scale paintings and seven drawings. James Siena was born on 28/10/1957 in Oceanside, CA. He grew up in Washington, D.C. and studied fine arts at Cornell University. After graduation, he moved to New York, NY, where he lives today. In New York, 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 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. 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 exhibition 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. His whose works range from wood carving to graphite. He has his own style and rules he calls the “visual algorithm”. He says, “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”. The rigorous mathematical process adopted by James Siena and the industrial technique of enamel on aluminum obscures neither the artist’s presence of hand nor the fragility of his lightest touch, which he applies and endlessly repeats. James Siena’s works provoke a feeling of incredible temporality as if they hold in their hearts the marks of ancient civilizations: countless forms bring to mind aboriginal drawings, African textiles, or Maori tattoos. Privileging medium and even small formats, the artist instills an intimate relationship between the painting and the spectator, rejecting the notion that “bigger is better”. Accumulation in his artworks refers more to an expansive development of a pattern drawn from inside of a self-sufficient system, from the core of a closed-circuit network – much like the image of a mental construction. In Siena’s works, the process blurs with the subject, creating fascinating surfaces. The little spaces, similar to fetishes, totems, or icons, concentrate a unique and hypnotic energy that invites the onlooker to choose his own path between the lines and to give himself over to the metaphysical experience.
Info: Xippas Gallery, 108 rue Vieille du Temple, Paris, Duration: 12/10-21/12/19, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 10:00-13:00 & 14:00-19:00, Sat 10:00-19:00, www.xippas.com
