Visiting Artist: James Siena

Based in New York, James Siena creates rule-based linear abstractions. 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. Siena works across a diverse range of media, including lithography, etching, woodcut, engraving, drawing and painting. He has been featured in more than one hundred solo and group exhibitions since 1981, including the 2004 Whitney Biennial. His work is included in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art, among others. Siena was inducted to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2000 and was elected an Academician at The National Academy in 2011. He is represented by Pace Gallery. Hosted by the graduate programs in Painting and Sculpture at Boston University, the Tuesday Night MFA Lecture series brings practicing artists to campus to present their work. All lectures are free and open to the public.