New York artist, Sky Pape, creates process based, abstract works on paper that are subtly impactful. With organic sweeps of ink, and bright flashes of color Pape is able to balance soft and hard edges. Her work has been exhibited and collected by several museums, most recently the Sheldon Museum of Art in Nebraska, and the Grand Rapids Museum of Art in Michigan. Pape’s work is in in the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Tiffany & Co., Le Cirque du Soleil, and other public, corporate, and private collections. Awards and honors include residency fellowships in Italy at The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center and The BogliascoFoundation’s Liguria Study Center for the Arts & Humanities, as well as grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, the E.D. Foundation, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, and the Chenven Foundation. She is represented by June Kelly Gallery in New York City and has exhibited internationally since the early 1980s.
For fourteen years, until 2000, Pape maintained a parallel career in scientific research, primarily in the fields of schizophrenia, genetics, and traumatic brain injury. Her research analyses were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry and other publications, while her artwork has twice been the cover of MIT’s Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. Her interest in science continues to factor into her creative activities. Pape is a nature enthusiast and pom-pom waver for creative folks of all stripes. Born in Canada, she lives and works in northernmost Manhattan.

selected solo exhibitions

2017 Passing Through, June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY

2014 Sky Pape: Traces of Places, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ

2013 Time Being, June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY

2013 Selections from the Bellagio Suite, Yellow Box Gallery, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. (Exhibition Catalog with essay by Jo Anna Isaak, Ph.D.)

2012 Inkternal, Edward Hopper House, Nyack, NY

2012 Brushless, Curtis Gallery, New Canaan, CT

2010 Water Works: Surface Tension, New Drawings, June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY

2007 Ink Scissors Paper, 10-year retrospective, River Stone Arts, Haverstraw, NY

2007 Drawing Breath, Tompkins Gallery, Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA

2006 Drawing Breath, June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY

2006 Drawing Breath: New Work on Paper, d.e.n contemporary art, Los Angeles, CA

2004 Sky Pape & Jill Odegaard, Two-person exhibition, Courthouse Gallery, Lake George, NY

2003 Behind the Seen: Saturated Ink Drawings, June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY

2001 Silver Lining: Graphite Drawings, June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY

1999 Inklings: Drawings, June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY, Essay by Jonathan Goodman

1997 Mortal Touchstones, Shenandoah Valley Fine Art Center (Affiliate of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts) Waynesboro, VA

1995 Terra Incognita, Treasure Room Gallery, New York, NY

1994 Peripheral Visions, Prezant Gallery, Bronx, New York, NY

1993 Private Viewing curated by Francis de Montebello, Marc De Montebello Fine Art, Inc., New York, NY

1993 Recent Paintings, Jadite Galleries, New York, NY

1992 Recent Paintings, Ward-Lawrence Gallery, New York, NY

1991 Odd and Normal Scenes, Ward-Lawrence Gallery, New York, NY

1990 Two Worlds Away, Lawrence Gallery, New York, NY

selected group exhibitions

2017-18 Celebrating 30 Years, June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY.

2017 Paper Worlds, Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, SC.

2017 Celebration! Artists Unite–MTA Poster Project, Hudson View Gardens Lounge, New York, NY

2017 Drums on Paper III, Ground Floor Gallery, Brooklyn NY

2015 Going Big, Central Booking Art Space, New York, NY

2015 Crossing the Line, June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY

2014 Selected NoMAA Grantees 2008-2013, NoMAA Gallery, New York, NY

2013 Drawn to Nature, Glyndor Gallery, Wave Hill, New York, NY

2012-13 GRAM Selects, Grand Rapids Art Museum, MI

2012 Transformation, Grand Rapids Art Museum, MI

2012 Hammond Museum, North Salem, NY

2012 Celebrating 25 Years, June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY

2012 Northern Manhattan as Muse, NoMAA Gallery, New York, NY

2011 Drawing Resurfaced, Stewart Center Gallery, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

2011 Exhibition of NoMAA 2010/11 grantees, NoMAA Gallery, New York, NY Curated by Rocio-Aranda-Alvarado, Special Projects Coordinator, El Museo del Barrio, NY

2009 Design Loves Art, d.e.n. contemporary at the Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood, CA

2009 NoMAA 2008/09 Visual Arts Grantees, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, New York, NY Curated by Rocio Aranda-Alvarado, Special Projects Coordinator, El Museo del Barrio, NY

2008 Timeless: The Art of Drawing, Morris Museum, Morristown, NJ

2008 2008 Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC

2008 Selected Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance 2007/08 Grantees, Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial Educational Center, New York, NY. Curated by Rocio Aranda-Alvarado,

Curator, Jersey City Museum

2007 Visions: Drawings from the James T. Dyke Collection, Naples Museum of Art, Naples FL

2006 cARTalog The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, IA

2005 Holiday Show, George Billis Gallery LA, Los Angeles, CA

2005 Pulp Friction: New Takes on Paper, Betty Barker Gallery, New Canaan, CT

2005 Span, Collaborative Concepts, Beacon, NY

2005 Drawing National II, Montgomery College, Rockville, MD

2003 Cycles, Patterns, Intervals, Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, VA

2002 Memory and Metaphor, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ

2001 Drawing National, Montgomery College, Rockville, MD

2001 Women and Books: Uncovered, Converse College, Spartanburg, SC

2000 The Collectors’ Show, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR

1999 From Hairbread to Wishing Machines, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada

1998 Priva B. Gross International, Works on/of Paper, City University of New York, NY

Curated by Marilyn Kushner, Curator of Prints & Drawings, Brooklyn Museum of Art

1998 Small Works, New York University, 80 Washington Sq East Galleries, New York, NY

1997 Cross Currents: Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Ocean Springs, MS

1996 Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh PA. Sponsored by the Carnegie Museum of Art. Curated by Dan Cameron, Curator, New Museum, New York, NY

1996 41st Annual Exhibition, Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY.

1996 Women/Violence: Testimony & Empathy, State University of NY at New Paltz.

1995 Hiroshima: From Me to You, Fukuya Art Gallery, Hiroshima, Japan

1995 Emerging Artists, Harper Gallery, New York, NY

1994 In the Spirit of Fluxus, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA

1994 Women’s Studio Workshop, 20 Years: A Retrospective, State University of NY, New Paltz NY

1994 Small Works, New York University, 80 Washington Sq East Galleries, New York, NY

1992 Mein Vaterland Ist International, Organized by the Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, Berlin. Exhibited in Berlin, Turin, Trieste and other major European cities

1990 Kunst und Krieg, 1939-1989, Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt, Berlin, Germany

1990 Das Andere Amerika, Organized by Reinhard Schultz and the Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, Berlin. Shown throughout Europe including Berlin, London, Dublin, Brussels, Antwerp, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Vienna, Zurich, Milan, and Barcelona

selected collections

Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York

Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

Museum of Modern Art, New York

National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC

Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln, NE

Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada

Tiffany & Co., works commissioned for Tokyo, Japan; Hong Kong, China; Beverly Hills, CA

Le Cirque du Soleil, Montréal, PQ, Canada

Dyke Industries, Little Rock, AR

Red Rock Resort, Las Vegas, NV

Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, Berlin Germany

University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City IA

selected grants, awards, & honors

2014 The Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation, New York (grant)

2013 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc., New York (grant)

2012 United States Department of State, Office of Art in Embassies, Montevideo, Uruguay

2011 The Bogliasco Foundation, Residency Fellowship at the Liguria Study Center for the Arts & Humanities, Italy, and the Bogliasco Special Fellowship in the Visual Arts

2011 Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, New York (grant)

2010 The Rockefeller Foundation, Residency Fellowship at the Bellagio Center, Lake Como, Italy

2009 Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, New York (grant)

2008 Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, New York (grant)

2005 The E.D. Foundation, New Jersey (grant)

2000 Canada Council for the Arts/Le Conseil des Arts du Canada (grant)

1998 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc., New York (grant)

selected publications, articles, & reviews

Works on Paper from the Collection of the Sheldon Museum of Art, catalog edited by Brandon K. Ruud & Gregory Nosan, Univ. of Nebraska Press, Lincoln & London, 2016. Essay by Cynthia Nadelman, pp 96-97.

Daily Record, Hunterdon Museum Hosts Two Solo Shows, by Ralph Bellantoni (August 1, 2014)

ArtFile Magazine, Elegant Exploration: Sky Pape in Conversation with Alicia DeBrincat (May, 2014)

ARTnews, Vol. 113, No. 2, Reviews: New York. Sky Pape at June Kelly, by Doug McClemont. p. 92 (2014)

The New York Times, Using Nature to Depict Itself, by Susan Hodara (Vol. CLXII..No.56,106, page WE11, April 14, 2013)

NY Daily News, New Exhibit at Wave Hill Celebrates Spring with a Group Exhibit Inspired by Nature, by Tanyanika Samuels (March 28, 2013).

Sky Pape: Selections from the Bellagio Suite, exhibition catalog, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada/Gaspereau Press, 2013. Critical essay by Jo Anna Isaak, Ph.D. John L. Marion Chair of Art History, Fordham University, NY.

Telegraph-Journal, Art-making upside-down and over: Canadian-born artist Sky Pape exhibits at the Yellow Box Gallery in Fredericton, by Shannon Webb-Campbell (Jan 12, 2013, p. S6)

United States Embassy Montevideo, Art in Embassies exhibition catalog, Published by Art in Embassies, US Department of State, Washington, DC. September, 2012. Foreward by Hillary Clinton.

Manhattan Times, Inspired by Northern Manhattan: The Artists and Their Muse, by Gloria Pazmiño (Vol. 13, No. 01: January 4 – 10, 2012)

Drawing Resurfaced, exhibition catalog, Purdue University Galleries, West Lafayette, IN, 2011.

The Manhattan Times, Art Seen Uptown - Sky Pape, by Daniel Bader (Vol. 10, No. 26: 6/25–7/1/2009)

Winston-Salem Journal, Get Close: Art on Paper Show Worth a Long Look, a review of the exhibition at the Weatherspoon Art Museum, by Tom Patterson (Jan 11, 2009)

Timeless: The Art of Drawing, exhibition catalog, Morris Museum, Morristown, NJ (2008)

Visions: Selections from the James T. Dyke Collection of Contemporary Drawings, exhibition catalog, Naples Museum of Art, Arkansas Art Center (2007)

NY Arts, Ink Scissors Paper, by Pamela A. Popeson (July 17, 2007)

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Vol. 19, No. 6, cover image (2007)

Manhattan Times, Sky Pape by Mike Fitelson (April 20, 2006)

NY Arts, Illuminated Brush Strokes, by Pamela A. Popeson (March/April 2004)

NY Arts, Sky Pape at June Kelly Gallery, by Carl E. Hazlewood (November 2001)

Artnet.com Magazine Drawing Notebook, by N.F. Karlins (October, 2001)

Cover, Processing Natural Order, Sky Pape at June Kelly Gallery, by Chloe Veltman (Sept, 1999)

Review Magazine, Sky Pape, Inklings: Drawings at June Kelly Gallery, by Mark Daniel Cohen, pp 8-10 (June, 1999)

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Volume 11, No. 4, cover image (1999)

ARTnews, Vol.97, No. 1 Peer Reviews: The Best of 1997, by Paul Gardner, pp 89-95 (1998)

Keening, Drawings by Sky Pape. Rag & Bone Shop/Midmarch Arts Press, 48pp (1997)

New York Newsday, For Eyeballs Craving Something Different, Review by E.Wix, (1994)

Kunst Und Krieg (Art and War), exhibition catalog, R. Schultz, Editor. NGBK Press (1990)

Tendenzen, No. 158,28. Hip-Hop Agit Prop International: Eine New Yorker Kunstlergruppe, by Matthias Diebold, pp 76-78 (1987)

The Portable Lower East Side, Vol 4, No. 1. Kurt Hollander, Editor. pp10-11 (1987)

Mein Vaterland Ist International, exhibition catalog, Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, (1986)

Das Andere Amerika (The Other Amerika) R. Schultz, Editor. Journeyman Press (1986)

education

1983-85 The Art Students League of New York.

 

Studied with Richard Pousette-Dart, Bruce Dorfman, Knox Martin

1982-83 Parsons School of Design, New York

1981-82 Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

 

Artist’s Statement — Passing Through
This series, hybrids of drawing and painting, are made with familiar materials like ink, water, and paper, and unexpected tools like palm fronds. My idiosyncratic methods move back and forth between exactitude and intuition, entwining them.
These days, I wander looping paths, wondering about connectedness, disruption, and perception. Time, space, scale – everything is in motion. Can I believe what I see? My eyes absorb information, but I recognize the human mind is hard-wired to leap to conclusions.
Are fallacies preferable to uncertainty?
When perception shifts, is ambiguity acknowledged?
How much interruption can continuity withstand before it is broken?
How do dissimilar entities intersect and coexist?
How do choice and chance converge to form identity?
How does identity shape acceptance of ambiguity and the desire to explore not only different angles but all that is unknown?
Stop. Look. Linger. Move on. Circle back and leave again. We’re all just passing through.
I couldn’t begin to do what I do without engaging with other disciplines: mathematics, science, philosophy, poetry, and literature. I’m firmly rooted in visual art, with a researcher’s heart and mind. Crossing disciplinary boundaries in order to trigger questions, absorb knowledge, and integrate ideas that expand my work is an indispensable and joyful facet of my practice.
It is part of my job to follow an idea wherever it may lead, using it as a directional signpost, not as a single, final destination. I work on multiple pieces at once because part of my discipline includes taking the time to puzzle things out. It’s important to linger in that place of ambiguity long enough to confront the limitations of one’s perception, and then move beyond them to identify connections where they hadn’t been noticed before. Curiosity, wonder, and adaptability are the necessary elements that lead to discovery - and more illuminating questions.

-Sky Pape, 2018

Sky Pape on "Passing Through"- 2018
And Freedom For’s Interview with Sky Pape October 10, 2015
Artfile magazine-2014