Born 1965, Berlin, Germany
Lives and works in Seattle, Washington
Artist Statement:
After the 2016 elections I have found myself in a new frame of mind. I couldn’t continue the transparent lace dresses, flora and fauna. It felt like my personal garden of Eden had been invaded and I had no choice but to step out.
I was searching for a stronger expression of my feelings in response to what had happened in America. I shifted to an emphasis on pattern, color, brushstroke and mark making. Moving into an ongoing exploration of my personal experiences through more abstract means of expression.
On the heels of my show with almost abstract art, I became motivated by the “#metoo” movement, and concerned myself in particular with the developments around the unveiling of women’s repression. Letting go of shame around sexuality and nakedness, and by contrast moving into the strength of girl power and womanhood. This led me right into the work for FERAL in which I was inspired by a new sense of feminism, a place of wildness, unconcerned with dictates of the fashion industry, the ideas of what a beautiful woman is supposed to look like, the letting go of rules about body size and embracing women of all color. The young girls and women are stepping forward to be viewed in both their vulnerability and strength. They have nothing to hide. They can be both soft and strong. They can be themselves.
When I returned in the fall to my studio I suddenly felt like something new had shifted. I started to depict young women again with transparent clothing, but they were clearly contemporary, sporting tattoos, purses and their hands had become animals. “Her Hands are Wild and Dangerous” was the first painting for this show.
Something about this work feels like in these last two years I have come full circle—no pun intended—I have incorporated many of the new abstract markings of early 2017, the bodies are clothed and back in ae lots of detail, their wardrobe contemporary with a ‘hip’ nod to the 60s and 70s, the time in which I grew up. These young women and children look at the viewer with confidence and possibly daring. You will not mess with them. They are both ‘woke’ and mysterious.
The newest series titled “tattooed”, depicts stories that are tattooed on the women’s bodies. They are fables, they are mythical signs, they are rites of passage. These tattoos are also political,they are unapologetic and brave. They are markers of the world we live in and this time that on so many levels feels right on the edge in many ways, both personal and general. They speak of shadow work, of exploring the dark sides of our psyche, but also of strength and hope. The women in the paintings take a stance that is forward, unabashed, direct and thoughtful.
Anne Siems Biography
I was born in Berlin, Germany. As a child, I lived for three years near Buenos Aires, Argentina. My first extended stay in the US was as an exchange student. After finishing my MFA in Berlin, I moved to Seattle, WA.
My work has moved from semi-abstract, room-filling plant and insect drawings, to paintings of detailed botanical and anatomical imagery on waxed paper bags, to my current work of young women and children on wood panel. The thread here being my fascination and awe of life on this planet and the connectedness I feel to all, but find hard to describe in words.
In the process of finding healing for chronic pain and fatigue, I have deepened my interest in shamanism, ceremony and the deep nurturing that nature provides.
In my work I try to be as honest and true to myself as I can without losing discernment. I aim as best as I can for sincerity, intimacy and openness in my paintings. In them I find the beginning of something that touches the universal. It is a place where others can touch the magic and sensuality that gets exposed in the process.
I think deep inside of us lives a longing to experience a sense of 'falling in love'. A visceral experience without words. For that to happen, this place needs to be free of irony and conceptual humor. I am looking in my work to find the point in which we feel a certain ache – the ache caused by the knowledge that life is full of light and dark, sacred and profane, beauty and ugliness, life and death.
"Look, I want to love this world as though it's the last chance I'm ever going to get to be alive and know it.” — from October, by Mary Oliver
Education
Master of Fine Arts, Hochschule der Kunste, Berlin, Germany 1991
Fulbright Scholarship, University of the South, Sewanee, TN, 1986-87
Upcoming Shows
Patricia Rovzar Gallery, Seattle, WA, Feb 2020
Wally Workman Gallery, Austin, TX Jul 2020
David Lusk Gallery, Nashville, TN, Sep 2020
Russo Lee Gallery, Portland, OR, 2020
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID, 2020
David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN, 2021
TEW Galleries, Atlanta ,GA Feb 2021
Solo Exhibitions
Slete Gallery, Culver City, CA
Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, NY 2018
Patricia Rovzar Gallery, Seattle, WA 2018
David Lusk Gallery, Memphis,TN 2018
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID 2018
Russo Lee Gallery, Portland OR, July 2017
Wally Workman Gallery, Austin TX, July 2017
David Lusk Gallery, Nashville TN, October 2017
Drawings, Walker Contemporary, Boston, MA 2016
New Work, Littlejohn Contemporary, New Canaan, CT 2016
Woodside Braseth Gallery, Seattle, WA 2016
Works on Paper, David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN 2016
Dream Lessons, Laura Russo Gallery, Portland, OR 2015
Elements, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID 2015
Beauty the Brave, Slete Gallery/Obsolete, Venice, CA 2015
Edges of Mist, Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, NY 2015
Old Growth, Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 2014
Part II, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID 2014
Trees, David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN 2014
Healing, Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, NY 2013
Ceremony, Laura Russo Gallery, Portland, OR 2013
A Careful Observation of Daylight, Obsolete, Venice, CA 2013
Anne Siems, Wolly Workamn Gallery, Austin, TX 2012
Guidance, Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 2012
Saints and Other Folk, Laura Russo Gallery, Portland, OR 2011
More Saints, David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN 2011
Paintings, Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, NY 2011
Wolpertinger & Other Creatures, Jacana Contemporary, Vancouver, BC 2010
Taxonomy of the Velvet Forest, Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 2010
Heartbranches and Strange Plants, Obsolete, Venice, CA 2010
Butterfly Flight & Other Stories, Walker Contemporary, Boston, MA 2009
Creatures, Laura Russo Gallery, Portland,OR 2009
Birds, Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, Ny 2009
New Work, Laura Russo Gallery, Portland,OR 2008
New Work, Walker Contemporary, Boston,MA 2008
New Work, David Lusk Gallery, Memphis,TN 2008
New Work, David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN 2007
Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 2008
The Laura Russo Gallery, Portland, OR 2006, 2007
Muse, Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 2006
Portraits, Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago, IL 2005
The Gift of Dream, Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 2004
Daydream, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2004
New Work, Argazzi Art, Lakeville, CT 2004
Home, David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN 2004
Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 2004
Infant, Boy, Girl, Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 2003
Kinder, Anne Reed Gallery, Sun Valley, ID 2003
Children, Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery, Portland, OR 2003
Bloom, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2002
This Vision, David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN 2002
Land in this Body, Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 2001
Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery, Portland, OR 2001
Erde, Anne Reed Gallery, Sun Valley, ID 2001
Winston Wachter Mayer Gallery, New York, NY 2001
James Gallery, Houston, TX 2001
From Within and Above, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2000
James Gallery, Houston, Texas 2000
University of Texas, San Marcos, Texas 2000
I Gather Myself Beneath Myself, Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 1999
Ledbetter Lusk Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee 1999
Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery, Portland, OR 1999
James Gallery, Houston, TX 1999
Anne Reed Gallery, Sun Valley, ID 1999
Jan Baum Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1999
Thoughts in the Night, Byron Cohen Gallery, Kansas City, MO 1998
Ledbetter Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN 1998
Nocturnes, The Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA 1998
Inside a Feathered Body, Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 1997
Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery, Portland, OR 1997
Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 1996
Unfolded in Stillness, Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID 1996
The Membrane of My Breath, Catharine Clark Gallery, SF, CA 1996
Botanical Vision, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID 1996
The Garden Behind Closed Eyes, Ledbetter Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN 1996
Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery, Portland, OR 1996
Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 1995
Ovsey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1994
Cal State San Bernardino, University Art Gallery, San Bernardino, CA 1994
Oregon School of Arts & Crafts, Portland, OR 1994
Flower Anatomy, Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 1994
Works of Summer, Ovsey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1994
Invented Memory, Bush Barn Art Center, Salem, OR 1994
University of Alaska-Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 1994
Ovsey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1994
Pulliam Deffenbaugh Nugent Gallery, Portland, OR 1994
Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 1993
Ovsey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1993
Pulliam Deffenbaugh Nugent Gallery, Portland, OR 1993
Sorg Design, Berlin, Germany 1991
Light Band Gallery, Berlin, Germany 1991
Frank Wegener, Steuerberater, Berlin, Germany 1990
Hertin, Nordemann & Vinck, Berlin, Germany 1988
Cafe Ubersee, Berlin, Germany 1988
University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee 1987
Select Group Exhibitions
Believe in Magic Antonio Colombo Gallery, Milan, Italy
Radical Kingdoms Union College, Schenectady, NY
Her Story, Walker Contemporary, Boston, MA 2016
200 Years of Grimm Fairy Tales, Goethe Institute, San Francisco, CA 2012
Gallery Artists: Group Show, Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 2012
Taste at Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA 2011
SUBstainability, Texas State University, Austin, TX 2011
A Debt to Pleasure, Massachusettes College of Art Gallery, MA 2011
Group Show, Sue Greenwood Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2011
Aqua Fair, Walker Contemporary, Miami, FL 2010
RUST-German American Artists, Sanchez Art Center, CA 2009
VISAGES:FACE REVISED,Rockford Art Museum,Rockford, IL 2009
20th Anniversary Group Show, The Laura Russo Gallery, Portland, OR 2006
Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID 2005
Reading Meaning: Word and Symbol in the Art of Squeak Cornwath,
Leslie Dill, Leslie Anders Lee and Anne Siems,
Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College, Clairmont, CA 2004
Works on Paper, The Armory, New York, NY 1998
Director's Council Exhibit, Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN 1998
All Fired Up, Planned Parenthood Benefit, Ledbetter Lusk Gallery,
Memphis, TN 1998
The Garden Show, PICA, Portland, OR 1997
Works on Paper, The Armory, New York, NY 1997
Out of Eden, The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Design,
Kansas City, MO 1997
SAFECO Collection, Jundt Museum, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA 1997
Botanically Inspired: Geraldine Ondrizek & Anne Siems,
Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT 1997
Memphis College of Art Biennial, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN 1997
Beeswax, Soil Gallery, Seattle WA 1997
Images That Make the Heart Murmur, Jan Baum Gallery, L.A., CA 1996
Tree as Icon, Ledbetter Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN 1996
Seventh National Juried Exhibition, Viridian, New York, NY 1996
A Collective Endeavor: Artfair Seattle 1992-1995, Seafirst Gallery,
Seattle, WA 1996
Gardens: Primeval and Eternal, Delta Axis, Memphis, TN 1996
Paperworks, Cohen/Berkowitz Gallery, Kansas City, MO 1995
Open Space, Victoria, B.C. 1995
New Art '94, Kingston Gallery, Boston, MA 1994
Art Books, Morphos Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1994
Flora: Artist's Gardens, Hope Street Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1994
French & Siems, Pulliam Deffenbaugh Nugent, Portland, OR 1993
Botanic, Sean Elwood Fine Art, Seattle, WA 1993
Issues of Response: Collaboration Among Three People, Kirkland Arts Center, Kirkland, WA 1993
Notes On Nature; The Last Acetate Show: Memorial to Red Spot, The Palladium, New York, NY 1992
Figure: 7, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA 1992
Northwest Juried Art: 1992, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA 1992
Gallery Artists, Pulliam Deffenbaugh Nugent Gallery, Portland, OR 1992
Seattle Invitational, Security Pacific Gallery, Seattle, WA 1992
Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA 1992
Silences Gallery, Seattle, WA 1991
O-HDK, Berlin, Germany 1990
FBK, Berlin, Germany 1990
Klasse Petrick Bei Siemens AG, Berlin, Germany 1998
Bibliograhy
"Reading Meaning: Word and Symbol in the Art of Squeak Cornwath,
Leslie Dill, Leslie Anders Lee and Anne Siems", Scripps College, Claremont, CA 2004
Updike, Robin."New work explores psyche." Seattle Times. June 3, 1999
Josslin, Victoria. "Painters analyze identity through botany." Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 25, 1999
Bonansinga, Kate. New Art Examiner. June 1999
Updike, Robin. Seattle Times. September 1997
Updike, Robin. Seattle Times. May 1996
Smith, Tracy. Art in America. October 1996
The Oregonian. January 20, 1995
ARTnews. December 1994
REFLEX. March/April, 1994
Laurence, Michael. Visions. Spring, 1994
Adamson, Loch. The New Art Examiner. May 1994
Lave, Rebecca. Willamette Week. June 1994
Cowan, Ron. Statesman Journal. June 3, 1994
Spiegel, Judith. Artscene. October 1993
Select Publications & Reviews
Collections
Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AK
Corporate Collections
American Airlines, Seattle, WA
Benziger Winery, Benziger Imagery Series, Sangiovese Chianti
Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID
Bullivant Houser Bailey
Fidelity Investments
Harry Connick, Jr.
Hallmark Collection, New York, NY
Irene Mahler Fine Art, Seattle, WA
Microsoft Collection, Redmond, WA
Mueller Design Inc.
Nestle USA, Glendale, CA
Nordstrom
Oregon Health and Science University, OR
Safeco Collection, Seattle, WA
Seattle University, WA
Sonoma State University Art Collection, Rohnert Park, CA
Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
University Hospital, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Awards
OCAC 90th Anniversary, Residency, Portland, OR 1997
Neddy Award Nominee, Seattle, WA 1996
Alice Rooney NW Women Artists Stipend for Pilchuck Glass School 1995
Artquake, Juror Ned Rifkin, 1st Prize, Drawing, Portland, OR 1994