(b. 1991) NYC
saar shemesh studio @ protonmail . com
Education
2022 MFA, Sculpture & Extended Media, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
2016 BFA, The Cooper Union School for the Advancement of Science & Art, New York, NY
2012 Visual Politics and Social Change, CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Individualized Studies & Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY
Residencies and Fellowships
2024-25 NYPL Picture Collection Fellowship, New York, NY
2022-23 Studio Access Residency, Visual Arts Center of Richmond, VA
2021 Standard Residency, RAIR Philly, Philadelphia, PA
2018 Hot Metal Artist Residency, Franconia Sculpture Park, Shafer, MN
2016 SOMA+CU Summer Residency, Mexico City
Solo and Collaborative Exhibitions
2023 Crip Algebra, with alx velozo and R.A. Walden, Current Space, Baltimore, MD
2022 IT TAKES A MUSCLE, The Anderson, Richmond, VA
2021 Hard Water, with Manal Shoukair and Dylan Ahern, Tuesday Gallery, Richmond, VA
The Bells, RAIR Philly, Philadelphia, PA
2016 ENOUGH, 7. E. 7th St, Cooper Union, New York, NY
2015 Forgotten Once Vertical, with Lina McGinn, 41 Cooper Sq, Cooper Union, New York, NY
Group Exhibitions
2025 TBD, curated by Brooke Vann, D.D.D.D., New York, NY (upcoming)
TBD, curated by Sarah Davidson and Nirvana Santos-Kuilan, Springs Projects, Brooklyn, NY (upcoming)
2023 Oil of Milk, curated by Nirvana Santos-Kuilan, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
2022 Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan, and Derelict, curated by Jakob Jackmauh and Lina McGinn, Artlot, Brooklyn, NY
Made In VA, curated by Heather Hakimzadeh, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA
Hold Me, curated by Rafael de Cárdenas, Children’s Museum of Art, New York, NY
2021 Blood Mood, FAB Gallery, Richmond, VA
2019 Tin Ceilings and Other Specifics, The Magenta Suite, Exeter, NH
After Light, curated by Daina Mattis, Undercurrent, Brooklyn, NY
2018 Partial Views, Hercules Project Space, New York, NY
Hot Metal Iron Artists Exhibition, Franconia Sculpture Park, Shafer, MN
2017 The Paperweight Show, curated by Zoe Fischer, Fisher Parrish Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2015 Be Me, For A Little While, curated by Michael Boyd, 41 Cooper Sq, Cooper Union, New York, NY
2014 The Last Brucennial, The Bruce High Quality Foundation, New York, NY
NEO NY, 41 Cooper Sq, Cooper Union, New York, NY
2006 Photography by Youth, ABC No Rio, New York, NY
Scholarships and Awards
2022-25 Adjunct Faculty Research Grant, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
2022 WSW Micro Grant, Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY
Post-Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Best In Show, selected by curator Bana Kattan Made In VA, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA
2021 Paul F. Miller Graduate Scholarship in Sculpture, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Graduate Thesis Research Grant, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
2020 The Foundation for Contemporary Art Emergency Grant, New York, NY
Full-tuition scholarship, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (thru Fall ‘22)
Graduate Teaching Assistantship, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (thru Fall ‘22)
2016 The Elliot Lash Memorial Prize for Excellence in Sculpture, Cooper Union, New York, NY
2012 Full-tuition scholarship, Cooper Union, New York, NY (thru 2016)
The Harriet Brows Scholarship for Social Change, CUNY Baccalaureate, Brooklyn, NY
The Opportunities Fund Travel Grant, Macaulay Honors College, Brooklyn, NY
2010 Full-tuition scholarship, Macaulay Honors College, Brooklyn, NY (thru 2012)
Press and Publications
2023 Hope is a Thing with Grab Bars by Rahne Alexander, Bmore Art
What Makes A Lake? Tracing Movement, Another Earth, Spring 2023
Thresholds (Issue 5), WMN Zine, Spring 2023
2022 IT TAKES A MUSCLE: wholes, holes, and other voids, authored Graduate Thesis Publication, Virginia Commonwealth University Library Archives
5 Things You Can See, by Nancy Smith, Art Lovers New York
2021 Interview with Billy Dufala, RAIR Philly
Public Talks, Panel Discussions, and Teach-ins
2024 Guest Critic, Graduate Seminar in Design, University of Illinois Chicago
2023 Crip Algebra Artist Talk with alx velozo and R.A. Walden, Current Space, Baltimore, MD
Guest Lecture, Surface Research in Art Foundations, VCU
Guest Lecture, Graduate Seminar in Sculpture, Boston University
Contextualizing Israel and Palestine, organized by Noah Simblist and Sarah Rifky, 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA
2021 Pecha Kucha, Department of Sculpture and Extended Media, VCU
2020 Pecha Kucha, Department of Sculpture and Extended Media, VCU
2013 Militant Particularisms within and beyond the Corporate Academy, Left Forum at Pace University, New York, NY
2012 Queering the Student Movement, National Student Power Convergence, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Selected Commissioned Projects and Assistantships
2024 Silicone moulds for Artist R.A. Walden’s solo exhibition in Berlin, GER
2023 Studio Assistantship with Artist Lily Cox Richard on her fountain commission, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI
Silicone moulds for Artist Diana Sofia Lozano’s Percent for Art Commission, New York, NY
2022 Sculptural table for private clients, in collaboration with Allison Samuels & Annika Bowker, New York, NY
2017 Set production for Spline, Michiyaya Dance, Manhattan Movement Art Center, New York, NY