Sandra Parsekian

The Artist

Sandra Lee Parsekian, North American artist of Italian Armenian ancestry, born in New Jersey, U.S.A. 1957. I am a studio artist having spent the majority of my hours investigating the two-dimensional surface of the canvas, primarily painting in oils. Having a traditional base in still life, landscape and portraiture, I began taking studio painting at the age of ten. My free time as a child was filled with classes of painting, ceramics, jewelry, clay and watercolors. When it came time to choose my field of study for the University I initially thought of law, as it is in my background. After visiting various Universities I realized, for me, the art department was the most important.

I chose Alfred University as it was both an art school and an academic university. Alfred has a renowned ceramics department and an innovative, challenging and exciting art foundation program. At Alfred I learned a sound philosophy of the process of creativity while learning basic skills. I studied drawing and painting for a number of years with Clara Nelson, a student and follower of Hans Hoffman. Hoffman was an artist 1880-1966 whose ideas described the plasticity of three-dimensionality translated to two-dimensionality; landscapes composed of tension between space, form, color and planes. It re-enforced the essentials of the creative process.

Sandra Lee Parsekian    Flying Fisch

After I graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts I went to a small painting school in the south of France, Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing, Aix en Provence. I studied landscape painting, portraiture and history of art; a very magical year connecting with Cezanné’s Mount St. Victoire, understanding the birth of cubism and painting in the light of the impressionists. I returned back to the states and completed a Master of Art at William Patterson University where I was offered a scholarship and a working grant. From there I was accepted into the “Art in New York” program where a group of selected artists were given a studio in Manhattan for a year, participated in lectures, worked in the studio of a professional artist and learned about the art world first hand. Finishing the year in the city I began to teach some classes at William Patterson University and other educational institutions in New York.

An opportunity came up in 1986 to live and work in Madrid, Spain. I closed my studio in New York and planned a three month exchange. Three months turned into six months. I became immersed in the bullfight and did a series of paintings and drawings on the subject. Twenty years later I am living in Barcelona Spain with my two sons Ned and Jason Martorell. I continue to paint and sculpt and am designing a series of ceramic ware and product design.

Curriculum Vitae

BIOGRAPHY
SANDRA LEE PARSEKIAN
New Jersey, USA 1957

EDUCATION
1982-1983
Empire State College, State University of New York, Art in New York program

1981-1982
Master of Art William Paterson University, New Jersey

1980-1981
Art Students League, NYC New York

1980
Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing Aix en Provence France

1979
Bachelor of Fine Arts Alfred University Alfred, NY

EXHIBITIONS
2002- 2015
Open Studios Barcelona, Spain

2000
Ceramic Sculpture, Gallery Sol Sureda

1989
Ben Shahn Gallery, Wayne, New Jersey

1988
Sensory Evolution Gallery, NY, NY
Baron Arts Center, “Masques” Woodbridge, New Jersey

1886
The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Richfield Conn.
Sensory Evolution Gallery, New York, NY

1985
Soho Center for Visual Arts, NYC, NY
M13 Gallery, NY, NY
Now Gallery, NY, NY
Sensory Evolution Gallery NY, NY
Brooklyn Arts and Cultural Assoc. NY, NY

1980
39th Annual National Art Exhibit, Bergen Community Museum, Paramus, New Jersey

Download my Curriculum Vitae here