Amy Sillman
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Biography
Born 1955 in Detroit, MI
Lives and works in New York, NY
Amy Sillman has become one of the most influential figures of 21st century painting, as she moves across media seamlessly, integrating elements such as collage, drawing and printmaking into her practice. Sillman considers drawing to be the point of departure for all her work. She also explores gestural modes of production in her inkjet-printed and silkscreened canvases, zines and more recently in her animated iPhone videos.
A retrospective exhibition of works by Amy Sillman is currently on view at Kunstmuseum Bern (2024), travelling to Ludwig Forum, Aachen in 2025. A comprehensive selection of paintings on paper was part of The Milk of Dreams, curated by Cecilia Alemani at the 59th Biennale di Venezia. Sillman has held solo exhibitions at major international institutions, most recently at the Arts Club of Chicago (2019); The Camden Arts Center, London (2018) and Kunsthaus Bregenz (2015). Her work was included in group shows at the Museum Brandhorst, Munich (2023); Lenbachhaus, Munich (2018); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2016); Tate Modern, London (2015) and MoMA, New York (2015), among others. Works by the artist were on view in the 2014 Whitney Biennial. In addition, she recently curated an Artist’s Choice show at the MoMA titled The Shape of Shape which opened in 2019.
Her work can be found in the permanent collections of the MoMA, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Art Institute of Chicago; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Museum Brandhorst, Munich, and many more.
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More recently, I started thinking about shape. I’ve never read a book on shape. I’ve read books on gesture; I’ve read tons of books on color, surface, field, ground, representation, abstraction. But I’ve never read a book on what a shape is. I like shapes. So I was making all of these round ones. And then I thought, “I guess they’re people.”
– Amy Sillman
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WorksOpen a larger version of the following image in a popup:
Amy Sillman, 'Dub Stamp (25), 2019, recto
Amy Sillman
Dub Stamp (25), 2019Silkscreen ink on paper (double-sided)Signed, dated, and titled on rectoPaper dimensions:
152.4 x 101.6 cm / 60 x 40 inches
Framed dimensions:
161.8 x 111.3 cm / 63.4 x 43.7 inchesB-ASILLMAN-.19-0004'Dub Stamp (25)' is part of an important series that Amy Sillman started to work on in winter 2017 and that formed a major part of her exhibition „Landline' at...'Dub Stamp (25)' is part of an important series that Amy Sillman started to work on in winter 2017 and that formed a major part of her exhibition „Landline" at Camden Arts Center 2018/2019.
The idea behind the Dub Stamp series derives from Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphosis from 8 AD, the core message of which is "I want to talk about bodies transforming into new forms." Amy Sillman also references Metamorphosis in her zine series, which you can access here.
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Dub Stamp (25) forma parte de una importante serie en la que Amy Sillman comenzó a trabajar en el invierno de 2017 y que constituyó una parte importante de su exposición "Landline" en el Camden Arts Center 2018/2019.
La idea detrás de la serie Dub Stamp deriva de la Metamorfosis del poeta romano Ovidio del año 8 d.C., cuyo mensaje central es "Quiero hablar de cuerpos que se transforman en nuevas formas." Amy Sillman también hace referencia a Metamorfosis en su serie de fanzines, a los que puedes acceder aquí.
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Mit ihren Election Drawings – Kohlezeichnungen, die sie nach der Wahl von Donald Trump zum Präsiden- ten im Jahr 2016 fertigte – kotzt sie sich buch- stäblich die Seele aus. Sie gibt sich nieder- geschlagen, wenn sie in Illinois, einem der US-Staaten, in denen Immigrantenfamilien voneinander getrennt wurden, eine vor Ent- setzen schreiende, in Embryonalhaltung lie- gende Figur malt, die über eine Nabelschnur mit einem versteinerten Mann verbunden ist.
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With her Election Drawings - charcoal drawings that she made after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 - she literally pukes her soul out. She appears downcast when she paints a figure in Illinois, one of the US states where immigrant families have been separated from each other, screaming with release and lying in an embryonic position, connected to a fossilised man by an umbilical cord.Exhibitions
Amy Sillman: The Nervous System, The Arts Club of Chicago, 201927of 27ExhibitionsExternal ExhibitionsNewsPressPublicationsVideoAmy Sillman: To Abstract | Art21 Extended Play, 2024
Amy Sillman Oh, Clock! | Kunstmuseum Bern, 2024


