Emanuela Harris-Sintamarian

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAXIMALISM : UTOPIA, Drawings by Emanuela Harris-Sintamarian, MARCH 29TH – MAY 5TH, 2012

 

Bio

I was born and lived, until the age of twenty-three, in Romania, where I also completed my early years of studies, first at Nicolae Tonitza, a selective art high-school, followed by Nicolae Grigorescu University of Fine Arts Bucharest. Both of these institutions, especially the former, have recently begun to regain their importance in the European educational system. This appreciation, once lost because of the political situation, comes as a result of the mélange between the professors-artists, who gained international recognition, and its rigorous academic training. This training was based not only upon extensive and laborious art study classes, but also on the mandatory prerequisites of intensive studies in philosophy, art-history, and foreign languages. Fortunately, I was one of the beneficiaries of this traditional academic system, which provided critical fundamentals for my training as an artist.

During this period Romania was a country considered behind “the iron curtain”. In the mid-seventies, while under a dictatorship, Romania turned inwards and closed both cultural and political channels with the Western world. As an immediate result of this forced cloistering, the cultural and artistic environment changed, and art was considered a “subversive capitalist element”. After the fall of the dictatorship and communism in 1989 there were some attempts to reconnect with Western society, but this could not change the mentality built over the last half of the century. Furthermore, the country did not know how to deal with its freedom gained after 1989, and over time, managed to close the political relationships with the West resulting in a dismissive attitude by the Western world towards Romanian citizens. Nevertheless, by winning two scholarships to study in Europe, I had the opportunity to connect with the Western art world.

In 1998 the University of Fine Arts from Bucharest in collaboration with The Romanian Institute from Venice, financed my first study abroad experience in Italy. In Venice I had an exhibition under the tutelage of the Romanian Institute in Venice. I also worked on my art and participated in intensive art history classes. During a trip to Rome I had a meeting with the former Romanian ambassador to the Holy See and the director of the Romanian Institute of Rome, with whom I started a discussion regarding a much more ambitious art project. The project was to involve the University of Fine Arts in Bucharest, The Romanian Institute in Rome, as well as The Romanian Embassy to the Holy See. Although the preliminary project was accepted, due to objective causes (the unexpected death of the institute director), it was never finalized.

In 2000, having won a contest organized by the Romanian-French Association “Association Culturelle Saint Remy de Provence”, I spent several weeks in France to continue my studies. The generous scholarship and invitation from this association gave me the opportunity to meet curators and French artists as well as the opportunity to exhibit my work. Although at the beginning the French public regarded the exhibition as simply “exotic eastern European art”, over time we were able to create a dialogue, and the public started to act and react to the art itself. As a logical and progressive conclusion of this dialogue, I returned to Romania and had another show, which generated questions from the Romanian public’s point of view about art in the West.

In 1999 I came for the first time to the United States in a student exchange program. I volunteered to assist and participate in opening a basic art program for the children of Sioux Falls Reservation. The volunteer work was familiar to me, since I had worked with HIV Positive children in a Romanian orphanage. However, in the States I had the chance to discover and feel the sense of “the other” face of the American society. This experience helped me over time to relate better to some of problems of both my students and colleagues.

In the summer of 2000 I returned to the United States on a scholarship offered by the University of Delaware for an MFA in Printmaking (Masters in Fine Arts). While in Delaware I made contacts with different members of the art community, such as Mrs. Foreman, director of The Newark Arts Alliance in Newark, Mrs. Dede Yong, the former curator of DCCA (Delaware Center of Contemporary Art), collaborators of the Print Center in Philadelphia, and I had shows in area galleries, such as Blue Streak Gallery in Wilmington, Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia, and Limner Gallery in New York.

After completing my MFA at the University of Delaware, I realized that I had more questions than answers about art. So, I applied and I was accepted for a second MFA in painting at San Jose State University, CA, where I am currently finishing my degree (May, 2005). A new space with new investigations, and therefore, new experiences, combined with the opportunity to teach led me to accept the offer and move to the West coast.

While I was lecturing or teaching at both the University of Delaware and San Jose State University, I realized that the mélange between my personal and professional experiences generated by the exposure to different social, political, economical and cultural backgrounds has created the grounds for a flexible approach of a dialogue. Thus my teaching philosophy hinges upon the idea of dialogue and its active application is reflected by the desire to work with my students to find the most suitable solutions according to their own understanding and set of beliefs.

 

EDUCATION

  • 2002-2005

    • San Jose State University, Master of Fine Arts, Painting, San Jose, CA, USA

  • 2000-2002

    • University of Delaware, Master of Fine Arts, Printmaking, Newark, DE, USA

  • 1995-2000

    • National University of Fine Arts, BFA, Bucharest, Romania

Solo Exhibitions—Selected

  • 2012

    • Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA (upcoming)

  • 2010

    • Silicon Valley Arts Council: Artist Fellowship 2010, Triton Museum, Santa Clara, CA

  • 2009

    • Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA

  • 2007

    • Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
    • Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
    • KALEID Project, San Jose, CA

  • 2006

    • Foreshadowing XYX, , Works Gallery-P2 Installation Space, San Jose, CA
    • Travels Through Hyper Reality, Lavinia Center, Milton, DE;

  • 2005

    • Savage Garden; Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA;
    • How Could I Live without Ads, Open Studio, Works —San Jose Gallery, San Jose, CA

Group Exhibitions-Selected

  • Expo 30,

    • B.J.Spoke Gallery, Huntington, NY
    • West Coast Biennial, Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding, CA
    • Annual 2011, Pro Arts, Oakland, CA, Selections by Paola Santoscoy, Lead Curator, 2010 Biennial of the Americas, Denver, CO

  • 2010

    • Painting on the Edge, Federation Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
    • United Cultures, TravelGallery, Vienna, Austria
    • Small Works, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy, Australia
    • Scope Miami 2010, finalist: digital display, Miami, FL
    • 2010 Bay Area Annual, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA, Juror Betti-Sue Hertz Director of Visual Arts, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
    • New Directions ’10, Barret Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY, Juror Nat Trotman of the Guggenheim Museum of Art in New York, NY
    • Secret Drawing, Palo Alto Center for the Arts, Palo Alto, CA

  • 2009

    • Little Works, Swarm Gallery, Oakland, CA
    • This is not a Poster, Institute of Contemporary Arts, San Jose CA

  • 2008

    • Gertrude Herbert-Institute of Art, “ A Sense of Place”, Augusta, GE
    • Sobrato Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
    • Hang Gallery, San Francisco, CA
    • Right Window, San Francisco, CA

  • 2007

    • Group Show: Niklas Belenius Gallery , Stockholm, Sweden;
    • Drawing: Vision, Surfaces and Beyond, Triton Museum, Santa Clara, CA
    • Ripples, Oakland Art Gallery, Oakland, CA, USA
    • New Generation, Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
    • Little Works, Swarm Gallery, Oakland, CA,
    • Juried Annual 2007, Pro Arts, Oakland, CA,

  • 2006

    • Storm, Swarm Gallery, Oakland CA,
    • New Vision: Introduction 2006, Pro Arts, Oakland, CA
    • Theory of Relativity, Soap Gallery, San Francisco, CA,
    • Eat Me, Frey Norris Gallery, San Francisco, CA
    • Connections-National Juried Exhibition, Studio Montclair, Montclair, NJ
    • Crossovers: Crafts- Art- Design, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE
    • 6th Annual Monster Drawing Rally, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA

  • 2005

    • New Visions: Introductions 2005, ProArts Gallery, Oakland, CA;
    • Annual Small Works, Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
    • Big Deal-Visual Aid, SOMA Art, San Francisco, CA
    • Glim Glum Glam, Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA;
    • Say What? ArtSF, San Francisco, CA

Awards and Scholarships

  • 2013

    • Eureka Fellowship, Fleishhacker Foundation, San Francisco, CA

  • 2010

    • Lawren Harris Award/Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, Canada
    • Silicon Valley Arts Council: Artist Fellowship 2010, San Jose, CA

  • 2008

    • Award of Excellence- ACGI Gallery, Berkeley, CA
    • ArtShift Award, ARTShift Magazine, San Jose CA

  • 2006

    • Fellowship: Artist’s Grant - Vermont Studio Center; Johnson, VT

  • 2005

    • Nomination SECA-SFMOMA-History Art Award
    • Fellowship: Artist’s Grant - Vermont Studio Center; Johnson, VT
    • AIR Program Fellowship Works-San Jose Gallery - Works, San Jose, CA;

Residency:

  • 2010

    • Djerassi Art Residency, Woodside, CA

  • 2007

    • Artist in Residency, Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA

  • 2006

    • Vermont Studio Center, (March) Vermont;

  • 2005

    • Works-San Jose, (June-August) San Jose, CA;

Bibliography / Publications

  • 2011:

    • Catalog: Studio Visit Magazine, vol 13-14
    • Catalog: Harvests of New Millennium, February, published by Cyberwit, Kalindipuram,India

  • 2010:

    • Catalog: 8th Annual Open International Juried Exhibition: Painting on the Edge, Vancouver, Canada

  • 2010:

    • “Secret Drawings, Dream Sequences & Surreal Reinventions” - HYPERLINK & HYPERLINK
    • “A woman’s art traces dad’s disappearance”, by Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle, April, 18, 2009
    • Art notes: SFMOMA, Kentridge, Shettar, First Thursday, April 6, 2009 - http://www.ptank.com/blog/tag/ema-h-sintamarian/
    • KQVA-TV: Artist Portrait: Ema Harris-Sintamarian; - producer Mark Potter
    • Stories Real and Vividly Imagined, KulturStan,Oct. 13, 2007 http://www.kulturstan.se
    • You Should Stop Editing, by Johnny Ray Huston , San Francisco Bay Guardian, Oct.. 3, 2007
    • SJICA Launches Residency Program In South Bay, ArtDaily
    • NextNew 2007 and Mitra Fabian at the San Jose ICA, by David Buuk, ArtWeek Nov. 2007, vol.38, issue 9
    • QKUD-Spark TV, interview with Naill McKay, produced by QKUD —Spark TV, 2007
    • Emanuela Harris-Sintamarian at Rosenfeld Gallery : ( HYPERLINK & HYPERLINK) 2007
    • Charlotte Kruk n' Kempken et Ema Sintamarian, Les cahiers Truong : ( HYPERLINK) 2007
    • Charlotte Kruk n’Kempken and Ema Sintamarian, ArtDaily, 2007 : ( HYPERLINK )
    • “Advertising, stock phrases and real estate come under the microscope in Pro Arts show”, San Francisco Chronicle, August.27, 2005 by Kenneth Baker
    • Santa Clara Review, Fall/Winter, 2005, Volume 93 No 1-full page coverage art work
    • “New Visions at Pro Arts” by Renny Pritikin, Shotgun Review, September 10, 2005 - http://www.delpesco.com/shotgun/archives/000182.html
    • “Works Tonight”- commentaries, http://www.village savant.com
    • “Fly Energy”, Philadelphia Weekly, March.7.2005 by Roberta Fallon
    • “Exuberance and restrain,”, HYPERLINK & HYPERLINK, 03/08/2005 by Libby Rosof
    • “Momentum”-South Bay Art Momentum Exhibition, fall 2004-catalogue exhibition
    • “Direct Art”-full page coverage of art work, Vol.7, Fall and Winter, 2002-3

Workshops, Lectures, and Gallery Talks

  • 2010

    • “Playing with Time and Memory”: The Palo Alto Art Center and The Djerassi Resident Artists Program; Palo Alto, CA

  • 2008

    • Artist Talk: Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA

  • 2005

    • “New Vision: Intro-Behind the Curtains” Panel discussion with ProArts Gallery, Oakland, CA

Public Film Projections and Multimedia Exhibitions:

  • 2010

    • Art Ark/”Inainte de Inceput” —movie projection, Collaboration with Val Raps, SubZero/Zero1 Biennale, San Jose, CA

  • 2004

    • Planetarium: McBean Theatre, San Francisco, CA;

  • 2003

    • Anno Domini/Phantom Gallery-San Jose, CA;
    • Works, San Jose, CA;

Social & Cultural Project & Curatorial Activities

  • Fall 2006:

    • Interventiones Mazatlan (Mexico)- San Jose (California), socio-political performance - street art

  • Summer 2006

    • Invited UEC for ISEA 2006 International Symposium/Zero One San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge-New Media Arts; organized and sponsored by ISEA, Zero One: The Art and Technology Network; Technology Museum of Innovations, San Jose Museum of Art, Cultural Initiatives of Art-San Jose, Montalvo-Lucas Artists’ Residency, Convention and Business Bureau, San Jose, CA

  • Summer 2005

    • CZ Artist Assistant, 30 Arts Tapestry Festival, San Jose, CA; organized and sponsored by the City of San Jose, and Alliance of Arts in support of art programs in California schools.
    • Participated in Part II: Street Art Project: Ex Corpses; organized by Anno Domini / Phantom Gallery, San Jose, CA

  • Fall 2004

    • Guest Curator and Juror- Pan Group Show, collaboration with Al Preciado, XPO Gallery, San Jose, CA,

  • Spring 2004

    • Assisted in Creating Cultural Program for Progressive Artist Network, San Jose, CA

  • Summer 2003

    • Collaboration with Anno Domini/Phantom Gallery in Art Project; Murals downtown San Jose, CA

  • Summer 1999

    • Assisted and participated in creating the curriculum for artistic and educational programs for American Indian Children- Indian Reservation: Sioux Falls, South Dakota

  • Summer 1995

    • Assisted in Doctors’ Without Borders: HIV-Awareness Program: assistant to Yves Lescoeur on documenting HIV Positive children in St Elisabeth Hospital Orphanage, Bucharest, Romania