Alumni Profile

James Siena is a New York City based artist whose complex, rule-based linear abstractions have situated him firmly within the trajectory of modern American art. His artwork is driven by self-imposed predetermined sets of rules, or “visual algorithms,” which find their end-result in intensely concentrated, vibrantly-colored, freehand geometric patterns. More recently, the artist has also begun to explore new ways of building an image and his oeuvre has expanded to include figurative works. Siena works across a diverse range of media, including lithography, etching, woodcut, engraving, drawing, and painting. He has participated in more than 100 solo and group exhibitions since 1981, including the 2004 Whitney Biennial. His work is part of many prestigious public and private collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Modern Art, New York City; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City. He has been represented by The Pace Gallery in New York City since 2004.