Jane South is a British American

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

known for large scale installations,

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes work of art, artwork in which more than one Art medium, medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different List of art media, media. M ...

constructions, and fabric wall pieces.

Early life and education

Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, UK, South received a BFA in Theatre Design from

Central School of Art The Central School of Art and Design was a school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Crafts. ...

in 1987 and an MFA in Painting and Sculpture from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, Greensboro in 1997.

Career

South worked in

experimental theater Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu plays as a rejection of both the age in particular ...

before moving to the United States in 1989. She began her academic career in 2001 with a two-year appointment at

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

. South taught at

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

(RISD) from 2013 to 2017 and was appointed Chair of Fine Arts at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

in 2017. She is Chair of the Siena Art Institute Advisory Board, and in 2019 was elected to the National Academy of Design.

Works

South has described her work as being "influenced by the way I have seen my neighborhoods evolve (for better and worse) over the past few years. New York City in particular is de- and re-constructed so much that it exists in a constant state of undress, exposing its often dilapidated and or shoddily or cheaply constructed layers--to me it's a reminder of the illusory and temporary nature of our sense of place". For over a decade, she constructed cut-paper architectures, playing with two-and three-dimensions to create large scale installations described as "sculptural follies" that "seem to simultaneously celebrate and mourn the constructed wonders of the world". South's 2020 solo exhibition ''Switch Back'' was described by Jillian Steinhauer in

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

as "what you might call soft paintings" that "evoke homemade creations like patchwork quilts and curtains as much as the post-minimalism of Eva Hesse and Robert Morris, and even Claes Oldenburg’s replicas of ordinary objects". In more recent work, "Her characteristic architectural forms and pseudo-industrial material are condensed. The past emphasis on three-dimensionality, accentuated by boxes and cages, are flattened into grids and swaths of subtle tones. Her signature paper and balsa wood constructs are replaced by tectonic assemblages of softer materials -canvas, tarp, packing foam, and thread." South is a contributor to the book ''The Artist as Cultural Producer: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life'' (editor: Sharon Louden). She is the recipient of ai a 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship, Brown/RISD Mellon Foundation Fellowship (2015); Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant (2009). In 2019 She was elected to the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

Selected solo exhibitions

*Switch Back, 2020, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, NY *Shifting Structures, 2019,

Mills Gallery Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Un ...

, Central College, Pella, IA *Raked, 2014, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, NY *Floor/Ceiling, 2013, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, CT *Shifting Structures: Stacks, 2012, Site-specific installation at

the New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

, NY *Box, 2010,

Knoxville Museum of Art The Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA), is an art museum in Knoxville, Tennessee. It specializes in historical and contemporary art pieces from the East Tennessee region. According to its mission statement, the museum "celebrates the art and artists ...

, TN *Jane South, 2012, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, NY *Deceptive Volume, 2008,

Queens Museum The Queens Museum (formerly the Queens Museum of Art) is an art museum and educational center at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. Established in 1972, the museum includes the '' Panorama of the City of New ...

, Bulova Center, NY Jane South *Infrastructures, 2007, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA traveled to: Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC *Jane South, 2006, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, NY Jane South and Savannah College of Art & Design, Lacoste Campus, France *Jane South, 2005, Susanne Vielmetter, LA Projects, CA *Jane South, 2004, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, NY *All Nine, 2003, Installation at Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden, Germany *Working Drawing, 2003, Installation & Animation,

MASS MoCA The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is a museum in a converted Arnold Print Works factory building complex located in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing ...

, North Adams, MA *Jane South, 2001, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, NY *Jane South, 1999, Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, NM

Awards and honors

*1998 - Roswell Artist in Residence Program, Roswell, NM *2002 - Arts & Humanities Grant, Williams College Center for Technology *2003 - MacDowell Colony Residency, Peterborough, NH *2004 - Joan Mitchell Foundation Residency, SFAI (Santa Fe Art Institute) *2006 - Fellowship in Sculpture, NYFA (New York Foundation for the Arts) *2007 - The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency *2008 - Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant *2009 - The Brown Foundation Fellows Program, Dora Maar House *2010 - Camargo Foundation Fellowship, Cassis, France *2015 - RISD Mellon Teaching Fellowship, Brown University *2021 - Guggenheim Fellowship

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South, Jane Year of birth missing (living people) British artists Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni Pratt Institute faculty British women artists Living people