Skip to main content

James Siena Paintings

American, b. 1957

American artist James Siena is celebrated for his inimitable process of creating intricate abstractions, driven by a practice of self-imposed rules termed visual algorithms. 

Siena preemptively determines his marks and actions and repeats them procedurally as his works result in intensely concentrated, vibrantly colored, freehand compositions. His oeuvre often references diagrams, complex puzzles, labyrinths, and mapping, resulting in inward meditations that actively engage traditions of pattern and mark-making in an ongoing exploration of scale, materiality, and interaction of color. 

Maneuvering across a diverse range of mediums, including painting, sculpture, drawing, lithography, etching and woodcuts, Siena’s work has placed him firmly within the canon of contemporary American art. For more than four decades, Siena’s rule-based linear abstractions have been strongly associated with the machine / human interface. 

“The way the paintings act as machines,” the artist has pointed out, “is you have to find your way into them and find your way out of them.”

Born in Oceanside, California, in 1957, Siena lives and works in New York, NY, and Otis, MA.

Find original James Siena art on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Miles McEnery Gallery)

to
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
1
1
1
1
1
6
754
753
745
672
1
1
Artist: James Siena
James Siena -T-nail ink drawing, unique geometric abstraction hand signed Framed
James Siena -T-nail ink drawing, unique geometric abstraction hand signed Framed

James Siena -T-nail ink drawing, unique geometric abstraction hand signed Framed

By James Siena

Located in New York, NY

James Siena Untitled t-nail drawing (reference: two against two), 1999 Graphite on paper Pencil signed, titled, annotated and dated on the reverse of the sheet (see photos) also penc...

Category

1990s Abstract Geometric James Siena Paintings

Materials

Pencil, Graphite

Related Items
Colorful painting on paper, Unique piece, Abstract Expressionist
Colorful painting on paper, Unique piece, Abstract Expressionist

Colorful painting on paper, Unique piece, Abstract Expressionist

Located in Carballo, ES

TUSET (1997, A Coruña, España) Mixed media painting on paper Ready to frame One-of-a-kind Signed on back Includes certificate of authenticity 2021 65 x 50 cm. It belongs to the ser...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Geometric James Siena Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil Crayon, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pencil

Untitled Drawing, Abstract Pencil and Oil Crayon, Circa 2005, Unframed
Untitled Drawing, Abstract Pencil and Oil Crayon, Circa 2005, Unframed

Untitled Drawing, Abstract Pencil and Oil Crayon, Circa 2005, Unframed

By George Dannatt

Located in Bournemouth, Dorset

George Dannatt (1915-2009) Untitled Drawing 2005 Image: 27.5 x 18.0 cm Mount: 40.2 x 30.0 cm George Dannatt’s long career as a painter and sculptor ended with the artist’s death i...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract James Siena Paintings

Materials

Pencil, Graphite, Oil Crayon

Specifically Nowhere, Yellow (Abstract Geometric Painting with Grids on Yellow)
Specifically Nowhere, Yellow (Abstract Geometric Painting with Grids on Yellow)

Specifically Nowhere, Yellow (Abstract Geometric Painting with Grids on Yellow)

By Donise English

Located in Hudson, NY

Large abstract geometric painting with intricate line work in pencil and gouache on a bright yellow background "Specifically, Nowhere (Yellow)" made by Hudson Valley artist, Donise English, in 2022 gouache, acrylic, pencil, and colored pencil on paper, mounted on panel 48 x 48 inches unframed, 50 x 50 inches with a dark brown stained wood floater frame Surface is protected with four coats of an archival UV protective varnish Signed, verso Excellent condition and ready to hang This large abstract geometric painting was made by Hudson Valley based artist, Donise English, in 2022. The composition begins with a bright yellow background overlaid with intricate line work in graphite and colored pencil. Thousands of hand drawn lines serve as a backdrop for a bold geometric form in a dusty violet and dark gray gridded pattern that references "an imagined city grid", says the artist. The painting on paper is mounted to wood panel and complemented with a dark stained wood floater frame. It's in excellent condition and ready to hang as is. The surface is protected with four coats of an archival UV protective varnish. More about the work: Donise English emphasizes lines, grids, and fields of subtle color to evoke imagined places and invented structures. While precise lines and straight angles are often associated with themes in architecture and urban planning designs, English conveys a geometric motif guided by intuition rather than a ruler. Variations on grids retain flaws and unmistakable traces of the artists’ hand; her style of draftsmanship shies away from intellectualism and instead makes her compositions feel very personal. Each design is intensely intricate, incorporating gouache, acrylic, pen, graphite, ink and colored pencil. Artist Statement: My work is about the way visual diagrams present information that describes how something is made or the way it is. I am interested in drawing and collaging multiple layers of information that refer abstractly to maps, architectural drawings and blueprints or patterns and structures found in such things as roller coasters, power lines and fences. I use gouache and collaged paper in a series of layers that are a visual and ideological response to the previous layer to define my pictorial space. For each piece I create a set of rules to follow about the use of a limited palette, a grid format, opacity of paper and whether a piece may include curving lines or maintain a rectilinear structure. Artist CV: EDUCATION Master of Fine Arts in Painting Bard College 1986 Bachelor of Science in Art History State University College at New Paltz 1977 Additional Study: New York Studio School (Drawing Marathons) Columbia University, School of Architecture Women’s Studio Workshop TEACHING Professor of Studio Art, Department of Art and Art History, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY Coordinator, Interior Design Program, Florence, Italy campus 1992-present AWARDS NYFA Fellowship in Painting 2018 Invitational Award for Outstanding Contemporary Talent, University of Bridgeport, CT 2000 Purchase Prize, “11th National Juried Exhibition” College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Baltimore 1999 First Prize, “Women in the Visual Arts ‘95” Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, CT 1995 Joseph A. Cain Memorial Purchase Award for Sculpture Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX 1994 Honorable Mention, “National Juried Exhibition” University of Bridgeport, CT 1993 Individual Artists Fellowship in Sculpture Dutchess Arts Fund 1992/93 Tallix, Morris, Singer Internship in Sculpture Tallix Foundry, Beacon, NY 1990/91 MEMBERSHIP Royal British Society of Sculptors SELECTED JURIED/INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS 2020 “edu: Art Faculty of the Hudson Valley”, Hudson Valley MOCA, Peekskill, NY 2019 “Contemporary Abstraction”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Mixed Media”, SITE Gallery, Brooklyn, NY 2018 “JuxtaPositions”, The Painting Center, New York, NY “Peculiar Rarities”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY 2017 “Interlock: Color and Contrast in Abstraction”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Donise English: Encaustics”, Catskill Art Society, Livingston Manor, NY 2016 “Let’s Stay in Touch”, Howard County Center for the Arts, Ellicott City, MD “Under, Over, After Over”, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 2015 “Off the Grid”, Arts & Culture Program, Albany International Airport, Albany, NY “Gridspace”, KMOCA, Kingston, NY “Abstraction”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Assuming Identity”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY 2013 “Modern Artists”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region”, The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY Stone Canoe/Community Folk Art Center, Syracuse, NY 2012 New York Institute of Technology, New York, NY “Contemporary Painters (Who Just Happen To Be Women)”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Strange Glue: Collage at 100”, Cambridge School, Weston, MA “Dear Mother Nature”, Dorsky Museum, SUNY New Paltz, NY “Fresher Paint”, Rockland Center for the Arts, Nyack, NY Courthouse Gallery, Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, NY 2011 “Process+Content: Donise English”, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY “Donise English-Paintings”,Orange County Community College, Newburgh, NY “Gender Matters/Matters of Gender”, Freedman Gallery, Albright College, Reading, PA 2010 Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Encaustics: Wax and Image”, Westchester Community College, White Plains, NY “Dots, Lines and Figures”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Spring Awakening”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY “Clay City Dreams”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY “Texture,Pattern, Fragment”, Krause Gallery, Moses Brown School, Providence, RI 2009 “Collage”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY “Working in Wax”, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA “Encaustic 2009”, College of New Rochelle, NY “Three Artists”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Convergence: The Human Experience”,Howard County Center for the Arts, MD 2008 “Suckers and Biters: Love, Lollipops, and Exquisite Corpse” Chashama Gallery, New York, NY Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson NY 2007 “Patterns and Light”, Blue Hill Gallery, Blue Hill, ME “Suckers and Biters”, AG Gallery, Brooklyn, NY 2006 “100 Artists, 100 Watercolors”, Jeannie Freilich Fine Art, New York, NY “On/Of Paper”,Kirkland Art Center, Clinton, NY “The Love Show”, Manchester Community College, Manchester, CT 2005 The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN “Small Tales”, Valdosta State University, Georgia National Juried Exhibition,Art Institute and Gallery Salisbury, MD, Juror: Stephen Haller “Greed, Envy, Jealousy, Fear”, TSL Warehouse, Hudson, NY 2004 “Women in the Middle: Borders, Barriers, Intersections” University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee “Girl Art Now”,Hera Gallery, Wakefield, RI 3 Person Exhibition, Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, CA “The Feminine Eye”, Bradley University, Peoria, IL “Women Painting Women”, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA “Thought Patterns”, Kent Place Gallery, Summit, NJ “Surface, Matter and Artifice”, Dutchess Community College Art Gallery Poughkeepsie, NY 2003 “Beefcake/Cheesecake”,Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA,Juror: Jamie Wilson, Curator Halpert Bienniel, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC Juror: Jeff Fleming, Senior Curator, Des Moines Art Center “The Great White Oak”, Garrison Art Center, Garrison, NY Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY 2002 “Cat Calls”, Red Clay Arts, Brooklyn “Hudson Valley Regional”, SUNY New Paltz Juror: Sydney Jenkins, Director, Ramapo College Art Galleries 2001 One-Person Exhibition, Davis and Hall Gallery, Hudson, NY “Beyond the Surface”, Womanmade Gallery, Chicago One-Person Exhibition, Garrison Art Center, Garrison, NY 2000 “Vision 2000...

Category

2010s Abstract Geometric James Siena Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Gouache, Archival Paper, Color Pencil, Graphite

Untitled Abstract Painting, Mixed Media on Paper, 1992, Unframed
Untitled Abstract Painting, Mixed Media on Paper, 1992, Unframed

Untitled Abstract Painting, Mixed Media on Paper, 1992, Unframed

By George Dannatt

Located in Bournemouth, Dorset

George Dannatt (1915-2009) Untitled 1992 Medium: Mixed media on paper Image: 14.9 x 10.9 cm Mount: 29.8 x 24.8 cm George Dannatt’s long career as a painter and sculptor ended w...

Category

1990s Abstract James Siena Paintings

Materials

Oil Crayon, Pencil, Graphite

Untitled Abstract Painting, Mixed Media on Paper, 1992, Unframed
Untitled Abstract Painting, Mixed Media on Paper, 1992, Unframed

Untitled Abstract Painting, Mixed Media on Paper, 1992, Unframed

By George Dannatt

Located in Bournemouth, Dorset

George Dannatt (1915-2009) Untitled 1992 Medium: Mixed media on paper Image: 11.5 x 16.5 cm Mount: 26.0 x 30.5 cm George Dannatt’s long career as a painter and sculptor ended w...

Category

1990s Abstract James Siena Paintings

Materials

Oil Crayon, Pencil, Graphite

Small Abstract Graphite Drawing, 2000-2009, Unframed
Small Abstract Graphite Drawing, 2000-2009, Unframed

Small Abstract Graphite Drawing, 2000-2009, Unframed

By George Dannatt

Located in Bournemouth, Dorset

George Dannatt (1915-2009) Small Linear Composition on Graphite 1997 Image: 19.0 x 14.0 cm Mount: 27.6 x 20.5cm Reference number: 1345 George Dannatt’s long career as a painter and...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract James Siena Paintings

Materials

Pencil, Graphite

Blue Twisting Grid (Abstract Geometric Work on Paper, Custom Light Wood Frame)
Blue Twisting Grid (Abstract Geometric Work on Paper, Custom Light Wood Frame)

Blue Twisting Grid (Abstract Geometric Work on Paper, Custom Light Wood Frame)

By Donise English

Located in Hudson, NY

Abstract drawing on paper in light sky blue, black and white with custom light wood frame 'Blue Twisting Grid' by Donise English 30 x 22 inches unframed, 37 x 29 inches custom frame ...

Category

2010s Abstract James Siena Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Gouache, Archival Paper, Graphite

Dream: framed abstract Persian calligraphy ink drawing/painting on paper
Dream: framed abstract Persian calligraphy ink drawing/painting on paper

Dream: framed abstract Persian calligraphy ink drawing/painting on paper

By Nazanin Moghbeli

Located in Bryn Mawr, PA

Framed in a white wood painted frame with white mat. Wired with all hanging hardware, ready to install. Nazanin Moghbeli is a Persian American artist with training in Persian calligr...

Category

2010s Abstract James Siena Paintings

Materials

Ink, Archival Paper, Graphite

Prospectus 1
Prospectus 1

Margaret NeillProspectus 1, 2012

$2,711

H 27.01 in W 41.01 in

Prospectus 1

By Margaret Neill

Located in London, GB

Graphite on paper, Unframed. Margaret Neill works for a time on a group of pieces in a series, using classic almost primal materials such as graphite, charcoal, paint on traditional...

Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist James Siena Paintings

Materials

Paper, Graphite

Zed

Perry BurnsZed, 2013

$2,000

H 20 in W 20 in

Zed

By Perry Burns

Located in Fairfield, CT

Artist's Statement: "My paintings are an attempt to synthesize and enlighten pursuits of eastern and western art and their traditions. Using the full visual language of abstraction –...

Category

20th Century Abstract James Siena Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Graphite, Ink, Monoprint

Thaw 3 (Abstract drawing)
Thaw 3 (Abstract drawing)

Thaw 3 (Abstract drawing)

By Jaanika Peerna

Located in London, GB

Graphite and colored pencil on two layers of plastic paper. Unframed. Thaw Series is a new series of drawings where the artist continues her work touching upon environmental matter...

Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist James Siena Paintings

Materials

Plastic, Color Pencil, Graphite

Blue & Grey Green Plan: Abstract Geometric Framed Painting in Cool Toned Palette
Blue & Grey Green Plan: Abstract Geometric Framed Painting in Cool Toned Palette

Blue & Grey Green Plan: Abstract Geometric Framed Painting in Cool Toned Palette

By Donise English

Located in Hudson, NY

Abstract geometric painting with a cool toned palette of green, blue, and grey with accents of black and white against a sea foam green colored acrylic wash background "Blue and Grey Green Plan" made by Hudson Valley artists, Donise English, in 2022 Graphite, colored pencil, and acrylic painting on vellum 24 x 18 inches unframed, 31 x 25 x 1.5 with an 8-ply white mat, non-glare plexi, and simple black moulding Signed, verso Excellent condition and ready to hang This abstract geometric painting on vellum was made by Hudson Valley based artist, Donise English, in 2022. The composition begins with a blue green toned background of acrylic wash. A grid of box-like patterns in sky blue, green, grey, and black with white line work are stacked to create an irregular shape or an "imagined city grid", says the artist. The painting on vellum is complemented by a simple black frame with an 8-ply white mat, non-glare plexi, and wire backing. It's in excellent condition and ready to hang. About the artist: Donise English emphasizes lines, grids, and fields of subtle color to evoke imagined places and invented structures. While precise lines and straight angles are often associated with themes in architecture and urban planning designs, English conveys a geometric motif guided by intuition rather than a ruler. Variations on grids retain flaws and unmistakable traces of the artists’ hand; her style of draftsmanship shies away from intellectualism and instead makes her compositions feel very personal. A central checkerboard formation floats over a ground of pastel color or washes of grey or cream. Each design is intensely intricate, incorporating gouache, acrylic, pen, graphite, ink and colored pencil. The artist recently retired from her decades career teaching at Marist College and is now devoted full time to her art making. Artist Statement: My work is about the way visual diagrams present information that describes how something is made or the way it is. I am interested in drawing and collaging multiple layers of information that refer abstractly to maps, architectural drawings and blueprints or patterns and structures found in such things as roller coasters, power lines and fences. I use gouache and collaged paper in a series of layers that are a visual and ideological response to the previous layer to define my pictorial space. For each piece I create a set of rules to follow about the use of a limited palette, a grid format, opacity of paper and whether a piece may include curving lines or maintain a rectilinear structure. Artist CV: EDUCATION Master of Fine Arts in Painting Bard College 1986 Bachelor of Science in Art History State University College at New Paltz 1977 Additional Study: New York Studio School (Drawing Marathons) Columbia University, School of Architecture Women’s Studio Workshop TEACHING Professor of Studio Art, Department of Art and Art History, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY Coordinator, Interior Design Program, Florence, Italy campus 1992-present AWARDS NYFA Fellowship in Painting 2018 Invitational Award for Outstanding Contemporary Talent, University of Bridgeport, CT 2000 Purchase Prize, “11th National Juried Exhibition” College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Baltimore 1999 First Prize, “Women in the Visual Arts ‘95” Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, CT 1995 Joseph A. Cain Memorial Purchase Award for Sculpture Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX 1994 Honorable Mention, “National Juried Exhibition” University of Bridgeport, CT 1993 Individual Artists Fellowship in Sculpture Dutchess Arts Fund 1992/93 Tallix, Morris, Singer Internship in Sculpture Tallix Foundry, Beacon, NY 1990/91 MEMBERSHIP Royal British Society of Sculptors SELECTED JURIED/INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS 2020 “edu: Art Faculty of the Hudson Valley”, Hudson Valley MOCA, Peekskill, NY 2019 “Contemporary Abstraction”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Mixed Media”, SITE Gallery, Brooklyn, NY 2018 “JuxtaPositions”, The Painting Center, New York, NY “Peculiar Rarities”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY 2017 “Interlock: Color and Contrast in Abstraction”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Donise English: Encaustics”, Catskill Art Society, Livingston Manor, NY 2016 “Let’s Stay in Touch”, Howard County Center for the Arts, Ellicott City, MD “Under, Over, After Over”, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 2015 “Off the Grid”, Arts & Culture Program, Albany International Airport, Albany, NY “Gridspace”, KMOCA, Kingston, NY “Abstraction”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Assuming Identity”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY 2013 “Modern Artists”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region”, The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY Stone Canoe/Community Folk Art Center, Syracuse, NY 2012 New York Institute of Technology, New York, NY “Contemporary Painters (Who Just Happen To Be Women)”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Strange Glue: Collage at 100”, Cambridge School, Weston, MA “Dear Mother Nature”, Dorsky Museum, SUNY New Paltz, NY “Fresher Paint”, Rockland Center for the Arts, Nyack, NY Courthouse Gallery, Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, NY 2011 “Process+Content: Donise English”, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY “Donise English-Paintings”,Orange County Community College, Newburgh, NY “Gender Matters/Matters of Gender”, Freedman Gallery, Albright College, Reading, PA 2010 Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Encaustics: Wax and Image”, Westchester Community College, White Plains, NY “Dots, Lines and Figures”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Spring Awakening”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY “Clay City Dreams”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY “Texture,Pattern, Fragment”, Krause Gallery, Moses Brown School, Providence, RI 2009 “Collage”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY “Working in Wax”, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA “Encaustic 2009”, College of New Rochelle, NY “Three Artists”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY “Convergence: The Human Experience”,Howard County Center for the Arts, MD 2008 “Suckers and Biters: Love, Lollipops, and Exquisite Corpse” Chashama Gallery, New York, NY Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson NY 2007 “Patterns and Light”, Blue Hill Gallery, Blue Hill, ME “Suckers and Biters”, AG Gallery, Brooklyn, NY 2006 “100 Artists, 100 Watercolors”, Jeannie Freilich Fine Art, New York, NY “On/Of Paper”,Kirkland Art Center, Clinton, NY “The Love Show”, Manchester Community College, Manchester, CT 2005 The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN “Small Tales”, Valdosta State University, Georgia National Juried Exhibition,Art Institute and Gallery Salisbury, MD, Juror: Stephen Haller “Greed, Envy, Jealousy, Fear”, TSL Warehouse, Hudson, NY 2004 “Women in the Middle: Borders, Barriers, Intersections” University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee “Girl Art Now”,Hera Gallery, Wakefield, RI 3 Person Exhibition, Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, CA “The Feminine Eye”, Bradley University, Peoria, IL “Women Painting Women”, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA “Thought Patterns”, Kent Place Gallery, Summit, NJ “Surface, Matter and Artifice”, Dutchess Community College Art Gallery Poughkeepsie, NY 2003 “Beefcake/Cheesecake”,Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA,Juror: Jamie Wilson, Curator Halpert Bienniel, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC Juror: Jeff Fleming, Senior Curator, Des Moines Art Center “The Great White Oak”, Garrison Art Center, Garrison, NY Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY 2002 “Cat Calls”, Red Clay Arts, Brooklyn “Hudson Valley Regional”, SUNY New Paltz Juror: Sydney Jenkins, Director, Ramapo College Art Galleries 2001 One-Person Exhibition, Davis and Hall Gallery, Hudson, NY “Beyond the Surface”, Womanmade Gallery, Chicago One-Person Exhibition, Garrison Art Center, Garrison, NY 2000 “Vision 2000...

Category

2010s Abstract Geometric James Siena Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Gouache, Archival Paper, Color Pencil, Graphite

James Siena paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic James Siena paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by James Siena in acrylic paint, paint, synthetic resin paint and more. Not every interior allows for large James Siena paintings, so small editions measuring 48 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Monroe Hodder, William Taylor, and Luis Medina. James Siena paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $55,000 and tops out at $110,000, while the average work can sell for $70,000.