Giordanne Salley (b. 1986) was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. She received her MFA in painting from Boston University in 2013. Singled out by Roberta Smith in The New York Times, as a young artist to look our for saying her work is, flattened renderings of everyday close encounters…a relative unknown, that should not be missed.”

Giordonne Salley’s paintings explore reality close-up. Sensitively textured surfaces dramatize the moment materials touch or overlap. Her paintings explore the intersection of love and nature – a couple fooling around in the woods, a boat trip down the river. Her paintings function as nostalgic haikus. They echo with warm laughter and sweet sadness, conjuring a fleeting afternoon light.

In the artist’s own words, “These paintings are about being in love and how that feels when you think about it later.” Her work appeared in New American Painting in 2013. After college and before her Master’s degree, Salley worked at The Vermont Studio Center where she had a solo show in 2011.

Education

2013 Boston University, MFA: painting, Boston, MA

MFA Studio Berlin, American University at GlogauAIR, Berlin, Germany

2009 Anderson University, BFA: studio art/painting, Anderson, IN

2008, 2010 The Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY

Selected Exhibitions (* denotes solo exhibition)

March 2013, Boston,MA

Residencies

2013 MFA Studio Berlin, American University at GlogauAIR, Berlin, Germany

2010-11 Vermont Studio Center, one year residency with stipend, Johnson, VT

2010 Vermont Studio Center, January residency, Johnson, VT
2010, 2008 Chautauqua Institution, summer residency, Chautauqua, NY

Awards and Grants

2013 Boston University Ellis Fund Travel Grant (Berlin, Germany)

American University MFA Studio Berlin scholarship

Esther B. and Albert S. Kahn Career Entry Fund for the Arts Nominee 2011-13 Boston University CFA visual arts scholarship

Boston University teaching assistantship with Hugh O’Donnell and Richard Ryan

2011 Boston University service assistantship award
2010-11 Vermont Studio Center resident staff position

2010 Gapka VACI grant

2010 Chautauqua Institution full merit scholarship

2010 Vermont Studio Center Artist’s Grant

2008 Chautauqua Institution merit scholarship/ work exchange grant

Professional

2014 Visiting Lecturer, Anderson University Department of Art and Design, Anderson, IN

2012 -13 Program Assistant to John Walker, Professor of Painting, Boston University, Boston, MA

CFA Senior Painting Studios, Teaching Assistant, Boston University, Boston, MA

2012 Boston Young Contemporaries Exhibition Coordinator, Boston University, Boston, MA

2011-12 Printmaking Assistant, Boston University, Boston, MA

2010-11 Staff Artist, Vermont Studio Center (August 2010-September 2011), Johnson, VT

2010 Summer Residency, The Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY

Special Project: Haiti Earthquake Benefit Performance, Bread and Puppet Theater, Burlington, VT

January Residency, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT

2008 Summer Residency, The Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY