American, b. 1965
Born in Manchester, United Kingdom, Jane South worked in experimental theater before moving to the United States in 1989. She has a BFA in Theater from Central St. Martins, London, UK, and an MFA in Painting & Sculpture from UNC Greensboro.
South’s creative impulse comes from a seemingly unlikely source: bike rides around New York City. The shifting perspective that results from moving toward and away from structural objects inspires her exploration of the human relationship with architecture.
As her media, South chooses materials fundamental to art and to architecture–paper, balsa wood, acrylic and ink. With these basic elements, she creates three-dimensional sculptures that reference the industrial forms she is exposed to every day. With dozens of individual elements, folds, and marks, the meticulously constructed works are both sturdy and flimsy, modern yet archaic, encapsulating what South calls “the fluidity of our architectural experience.”
Among South’s grants and residencies are Brown/RISD Mellon Foundation Fellowship (2015); Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant (2009); Pollock-Krasner Foundation (2001 & 2008); New York Foundation for the Arts (2007); Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Italy (2008); MacDowell Colony, NH (2002 & 2004); Yaddo, NY (2001 & 2002).
South’s creative impulse comes from a seemingly unlikely source: bike rides around New York City. The shifting perspective that results from moving toward and away from structural objects inspires her exploration of the human relationship with architecture.
As her media, South chooses materials fundamental to art and to architecture–paper, balsa wood, acrylic and ink. With these basic elements, she creates three-dimensional sculptures that reference the industrial forms she is exposed to every day. With dozens of individual elements, folds, and marks, the meticulously constructed works are both sturdy and flimsy, modern yet archaic, encapsulating what South calls “the fluidity of our architectural experience.”
Among South’s grants and residencies are Brown/RISD Mellon Foundation Fellowship (2015); Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant (2009); Pollock-Krasner Foundation (2001 & 2008); New York Foundation for the Arts (2007); Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Italy (2008); MacDowell Colony, NH (2002 & 2004); Yaddo, NY (2001 & 2002).
