JANE SANGERMAN received her BFA from the University of New Mexico and MFA from SUNY Buffalo. She has had one and two-person shows in New York and Chicago; most recently at Corners Gallery, Ithaca, NY, and University of Buffalo Anderson Gallery, Buffalo, New York.
Her most recent group exhibitions include Minimal/Maximal The Principal of Convergence, and Perfect Imperfect The Transience of Things, both at Lichtundfire Curatorial, New York, New York; Exquisite Codes Berlin, Bla-Bla Projectrum, Berlin, Germany; Art Miami, Miami, Florida; Formation, five person show, Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, South Carolina; Found Object, five person show, ODETTA Gallery, New York, New York; and Mid Atlantic New Painting 2018, Ridderhof Martin Gallery at the University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Jane’s work has been included in multiple on-line exhibitions curated by ODETTA Gallery with the SHIM Art Network on Artsy.com. She has also participated in several online exhibitions through the Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, Connecticut and Jason McCoy Gallery, New York, New York.
In addition to teaching art at Ramapo College, a selection of her various visiting artist and guest lecture opportunities include The Glasgow School of Art, The University of Delaware, The University at Buffalo Anderson Gallery, and Northern Arizona University.
Jane received fellowships at Millay Arts, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, The Ucross Foundation, and The Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts. In addition, she has received The Jerome Foundation Fellowship, the Artist in Residence Grant, Ramapo College, and the Illinois Painters Three Award.
Her work is part of more than 25 public collections including The Brooklyn Museum, The New York City Public Library, The Spartanburg Art Museum, The University at Buffalo Anderson Gallery, and The Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop.
More of her worm may be appreciated on her website and Instagram account.
Artist Statement
I lean on a visual format that acts as an arena for my ideas—composed of two opposing spaces, hinged vertically. The upper register explores the metaphysical; the lower confronts the crumbling, man-made world. In this earthly plane, I focus on aging surfaces and the human energy embedded within them. I revere these storied environments and grieve the inevitable transformations to come.
Locality has shaped my work throughout my career. My current neighborhood, Bushwick, Brooklyn, pulses through my palette—its graffiti-laden surfaces inspire bursts of color and urgency. Fencing, which dominates the urban landscape, has become a fixation. Viewing light and color through these porous barriers has evolved into a recurring theme across my work.
There is always a social and human undercurrent to my practice, as my work is deeply informed by the environments I inhabit. While fencing first intrigued me as a visual device—something to "see through"—its associations with separation and confinement are never far behind.
Process is central to my approach. Hard-edged forms are taped and drawn with precision; intuitive, loose sessions of acrylic spray-paint create diffused overlays; linoleum prints are stamped—sometimes in rhythm, sometimes in fleeting gestures. Each layer builds upon the last to evoke depth and memory.
I also create site-specific installations using the residual materials of my studio practice. While my two-dimensional work suggests space and texture, these installations allow me to directly engage with physical matter, continuing my exploration of space through the persistent lens of the “above and below” structure.
