BIOGRAPHY
SEAN SLEMON
(b 1978 Cape Town, lives and works in New York)
Seán Slemon is a South African artist from Cape Town, living and working in Brooklyn, New York since 2005. He is recognized for addressing socio-political issues pertaining to the commoditization and distribution of natural resources. His examination of how land, light and street trees are co-opted to create advantage or discriminate underscores the active and passive decisions we make as a society. The result is an intense interrogation of public vs. private property, its ownership, and the impact this distribution can have on people’s lives.
Formally trained in sculpture, Slemon now incorporates installation, drawing and photography, seeking media that reinforce the concept. Embedding materials such as chalk, soil and concrete help to build physical and ideological layers and create theoretical conflicts. He primarily builds and fabricates sculptures himself using gypsum, fiberglass and other materials; however, recent projects have employed other fabrication techniques, using 3D computer modeling and working with industrial fabricators to produce works on a larger and more complex scale.
Slemon obtained an MFA from Pratt Institute in New York and a BFA from Michaelis School of Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town. He has been featured in numerous publications, and completed residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, and Chashama in New York. He has been awarded grants from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts in New York and the National Arts Council of South Africa; and won the 2005 Sasol New Signatures Award for emerging artists in South Africa.
Slemon’s work has been shown in the U.S., Europe and South Africa. Major site specific installations include Uplift: The Mountain (2008) at the Palazzo delle Papesse in Siena, and The Light at 7:00 am (2009) for No Longer Empty’s Reflecting Transformation show in Chelsea, NY. Most recently, Goods for Me (2011) was featured at Art Miami in the THINK BIG! show, curated by LaRete Art Projects.
In 2014 Slemon completed a commission for First National Bank; a series of five public sculptures for their Johannesburg Bank City precinct. He recently staged his third solo exhibition at MagnanMetz Gallery in New York, which remains open to the public until November 7th, 2015.
EDUCATION
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. New York, USA
2007
Masters in Fine Arts at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, USA
2001
Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art with Distinction, University of Cape Town, Michealis School of Fine Art, Cape Town, South Africa.
2015
Origin Unknown (Africa), MagnanMetz Gallery, New York, USA
2012
2011
2010
2008
2007
2006
2005
Joburg One to Eleven, The Premises Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Uplift: The Premises Mountain, The Premises Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
The Mountain and The City, Outlet Gallery, Pretoria, South Africa
2015
EMPIRE, Everard Read Cape Town, South Africa
2014
Art Week Joburg, Maboneng Precinct, Johannesburg, South Africa
2013
The Benediction of Shade, David Krut Projects, Cape Town, South Africa, curated by Jacqueline Nurse
“Et al” Nirox Projects, Johannesburg, South Africa, curated by Neil Nieuwoudt and Brendan Copestake
2012
Joburg: Don’t/Panic, C.H.R., Johannesburg, South Africa, curated by Gabi Ngcobo
Landscape Re-Orientation, David Krut Projects, Cape Town, South Africa, curated by Jacqueline Nurse
2011
Don’t/Panic, Durban Art Gallery, Durban, South Africa, curated by Gabi Ngcobo
2010
2009
Map South Africa: African Perspectives and the Heart of the African City, Pretoria, South Africa
Forever Summer, Denise Bibro Fine Art curated by Scott Malbaurn, June
2008
ZA Giovane arte dal Sudafrica, Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena, Italy, Feb, curated by Lorenzo Fusi, www.papesse.org
2007
2006
2005
Sasol New Signatures 2005, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, First Prize joint winner, Judges Award winner, Merit Award joint winner
2004
2003
2002
2000
2013
2012
2007
2005
2005
AWARDS, GRANTS, AND LECTURES
2014
2011
Artists Lecture, Artists Now Lecture series, University of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2009
2008
2007
2005
Sasol New Signatures Judges Merit Award
2015
2012
2007
2012
2011
2008
2007
Sean Slemon,Pratt Institute, New York, by Jena Barry, ArtSouthAfrica Magazine, Vol 6 Issue 1, P102
2006
Sean Slemon Solidifies Light and Space, by Jacki Mc Innes
SA Art Times, Issue 8, August 2006
2005
Artthrob_reviews, www.artthrob.co.za, Robyn Sassen, http://www.artthrob.co.za/05may/reviews/outlet.html
2002
2001