Sienna Shields
The Alaskan-born artist, Sienna Shields (1976–), studied history at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and works in paint, collage, quilting, performance, and multiple media including video. While at school, she became interested in vintage fire-insurance maps in which, as buildings and lots were altered, new images of modified constructions and street schemes were layered on top of existing maps to save on costs for the municipality. Archival collages seem to be the root of Shields’ 6-foot-high, imposing works such as Untitled, with its shimmering collaged surface of paper painted with acrylics and oils. The technique involves glazing bits of paper with various types of pigments and treating them as froissage elements—crumpling them up and overlaying randomly splattered paint onto the wrinkled forms.
Her first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, Between Recovery & Dispersal debuted at Rusha & Co. in 2023. Her work has also been exhibited at the Kruger Gallery, Chicago, Illinois; Superfront Gallery, Brooklyn, New York; Kuma-Galerie, Berlin, Germany; and the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Shields was the chief organizer of the HowDoYouSayYaminAfrican? artist collective and the director of its digital work
The Tone-Scientists 22, 2023 acrylic, painted paper on canvas 72 x 60 in.
an afflated air/ the night’s mischief saltant before slumber at dawn, 2024 acrylic, painted paper on canvas 48 x 36 in.
The Tone-Scientists 25, 2023 wire, pony beads, knocker pony tail hair beads, hair rollers Dimensions variable
The Tone-Scientists 1, 2023 acrylic, painted paper on canvas 72 x 72 in.
she liked to play “spring can really hang you up the most” to prepare at the end of winter/ water the sprouting whimsicals with wisdom/ cry a little or a lot., 2024 acrylic, painted paper on canvas 48 x 36 in.
The Tone-Scientists 2, 2023 acrylic, painted paper on canvas 72 x 96 in.
sly smiles for past loves/ cacophonies rally roads/ advene to me, 2024 acrylic, painted paper on canvas 48 x 36 in.
The Tone-Scientists 12, 2023 acrylic, painted paper on canvas 48 x 60 in.
The Tone-Scientists 14, 2023 acrylic, painted paper on canvas 60 x 48 in.
The Tone-Scientists, 2023 acrylic, painted paper on canvas 48 x 48 in.
Exhibitions
