|
Jana Sterbak
- born in 1955 in Prague, Czech Republic
- immigrated to Montréal, Québec in 1968
- Vancouver School of Art, Vancouver, British Columbia
(1973-74); University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia (1974-75); B.F.A.
Concordia University, Montréal, Québec (1977); University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
(1980-1982)
Much of Jana Sterbak's artistic production centers around
themes of power, control, seduction, sexuality and the ways in which human beings have
turned to technology to transcend their physicality. In Jana Sterbak: States of Being
(1991), Diana Nemiroff explained that Sterbak's artistic vision was shaped by her
childhood in Prague and her experiences in a Marxist/Leninist educational system.
Describing Sterbak's creative practice, Nemiroff wrote "a propensity for irreverence
and a sense of the absurd, as well as a vision of the darker forces in human life that is
quite her own, might be traced in part to Sterbak's growing up in Prague." Sterbak's
predilection for black humour and her use of irony, humanism and fantasy have been
attributed to her appreciation of the writings of such Czech literary figures as Franz
Kafka, Jaroslav Hasek and Karel Capek. Sterbak's sculptural works often take the form of
garment-like constructions. For example, in 1986 her work, I Want You to Feel the Way I
Do (1985), part of a joint exhibition with Polish artist Krzyzstof
Wodiczko, consisted of a wire mesh dress that stood on its own with an uninsulated
glowing nickelchrome wire wrapped around it. Part of the accompanying text read, "I
want you to feel the way I do: there is wire wrapped all around my head and my skin grates
on my flesh from the inside. How can you be so comfortable only 5 inches to the left of
me?" Philip Evans-Clark wrote of the piece: "Sterbak's sculpture at first glance
seems to be a witness to some difficult destiny--an [exhibit] in a trial of consciousness
knowing little peace . . . . Clothing, like masks, plays with morality. It never
challenges our identity on its own terms, but toys with it, turns it upside down,
multiplies it . . ." (1986). Remote Control (1989) consists of a motorized
metal crinoline. In order to wear this hoop dress, the female performer must place herself
into a canvas panty at the center of the garment. The performer's movements are determined
by a remote control which is held by the male attendant or by the female wearer/performer.
While Remote Control is the result of Sterbak's examination of how technological
advances have permitted us to temporarily surpass the confines of our corporeality, she is
also interested in drawing our attention to the pitfalls of technological innovation. Many
of Sterbak's sculptural garments are cage-like, alluding to the imprisoning effects of
technological innovation, implying that our quest to free ourselves from our bodily limits
is perhaps equally oppressive. In 1991, her work Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino
Anorectic (1987) received widespread publicity, as it was composed of fifty pieces of
flank steak that cured over a period of several weeks until the artist replaced it with a
fresh meat dress. In 1997, Sterbak held an exhibition of several recent works under the
title Metamorphosis, continuing her explanation of clothing and cages, adding works
about cricket fights and moths eating. "Pushing the envelope is this artist's natural
state," Irena Zantovska Murray wrote in the exhibition catalogue. "Her interest
in cage-like structures . . . is of as long duration as her desire to explore the themes
of aggression and survival, domesticity and disruption of self-inflicted pain and of the
transformation of self . . . . Here, imaginary beings switch voices alter genders, shed
old skins, and assume new identities" (1997).
|
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1999 |
Jana Sterbak
Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
1998 |
Jana Sterbak
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IllinoisGalerie
René Blouin, Montréal, Québec
Galeria Antoni Tapies, Barcelona, Spain
|
1997 |
Jana Sterbak: Metamorphosis
David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island |
1996 |
Jana Sterbak: New
Photoworks
Donald Young Gallery, Seattle, WashingtonTrichotilomania
III
Galerie René Blouin, Montréal, Québec
|
1995 |
Jana Sterbak
Donald Young Gallery, Seattle, WashingtonJana
Sterbak: VELLEITAS
Musée d'art moderne de Saint-Etienne, France; Fundacio Antoni Tapies, Barcelona, Spain;
Serpentine Gallery, London, England
|
1994 |
Jana Sterbak: Déclaration
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, Nantes, France; Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal,
Québec |
1993 |
Jana Sterbak
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, DenmarkI
Want You to Feel the Way I Do
Fundacio, la Caixa, Barcelona, Spain
Jana Sterbak: Lénine rétréci
Galerie René Blouin, Montréal, Québec
|
1992 |
Project Room
Museum of Modern Art, New York, New YorkGalerie
Crousel-Robelin/ BAMA, Paris, France
|
1991 |
Jana Sterbak: Sisyphe II
Galerie René Blouin, Montréal, QuébecJana
Sterbak: States of Being/Corps à corps
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario (travelling)
|
1990 |
Donald Young Gallery, Chicago,
Illinois The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New
York, New York
|
1989 |
The Western Front, Vancouver,
British Columbia MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina,
Saskatchewan
Galerie René Blouin, Montréal, Québec
|
1988 |
The Power Plant, Toronto,
Ontario |
1987 |
The Ydessa Gallery, Toronto,
Ontario Galerie René Blouin, Montréal, Québec
|
1985 |
The Ydessa Gallery, Toronto,
Ontario |
1982 |
Golem - Objects as
Sensations
Mercer Union, Toronto, Ontario |
1981 |
How Things Stand Up
Main Exit, Vancouver, British Columbia |
1980 |
YYZ Artists' Outlet, Toronto,
Ontario Travaux récents
Galerie Optica, Montréal, Québec
|
1978 |
Pumps Art
Vancouver, British Columbia |
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1998 |
Addressing the Century
Hayward Gallery, London, England; Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg, GermanyCrossings/Traversées
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Oevres récentes
Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris, France
The Quiet of the Land
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts
Spectacular Optical
Thread Waxing Space, New York New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami,
Florida
Disidentico: maschile femminile e altro
Palazzo Branciforte, Palermo, Italy
The Secret Life of Clothes
Mitsubishi-jisho Artium/The Nishinippon, Fukuoka, Japan
Desde el Cuerpo. Alegorias de lo femenino
Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela
|
1997 |
Five Years of Collecting
Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University, Montréal, QuébecFifth International Istanbul Biennial
Istanbul Turkey
Trash quando i rifiuti diventano arte
Palazzo delle Albere, Trento, Italy
love hotel
Travelling exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Australia
The Quiet of the Land
Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, Maine
Floating Images of Women in Art History: From the
Birth of the Feminism toward the Dissolution of the Gender
Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Tochigi, Japan
Le songe de Constantin
Villa de Noailles, Hyères, France
Art/Fashion
Guggenheim Museum SoHo, New York
Objectifs corps
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, Québec
Introvertions
Contemporary Art Museum, Barcelona, Spain
Inside the Visible
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Australia'
Art on the Edge of Fashion
ASU Art Museum, Nelson Fine Arts Center, Tempe, Arizona; Cranbrook Art Museum,
Bloomfield Hill, Michigan
|
1996 |
Corps étrangers
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, OntarioL'oeil
du collectionneur
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Québec
Il tempo e la moda
Biennale di Firenze, Florence, Italy
Embedded Metaphor
Independent Curators Incorporated, New York (travelling)
NowHere
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
L'art au corps
MAC, galeries contemporaines des musée de Marseille, Marseille, France
Collection/Parcours (Genevieve Cadieux, Annette
Messager, Jana Sterbak)
Musée départemental de Rochefort, France
Feed and Greed
Decorative Arts Museum, Vienna, Austria
Inside the Visible
ICA, Boston, Massachusetts; White Chapel, London, England; Kanaal Art Foundation, Courtai,
Belgium
|
1995 |
Colisiones-Collisions
Arteleku, San Sebastian, SpainPicola
Scultura
Padova Bienniale, Padua, Italy
Fémininmasculin: le sexe de l'art
Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Muse?
Galerie Thaddaeu Ropac, Paris, France; Salzburg, Austria
Beyond the Borders
Kwangju Biennale, Korea
PerForms: Janine Antoni, Charles Ray, Jana Sterbak
ICA, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Traces de la danse
Musée d'art de Joliette, Joliette, Québec
Rites of Passage
Tate Gallery, London, England
Premiers Dons 1964-1965 et Dons 1989-1994
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Québec
Images in Perspective
Zeryntia, Serre di Rapolano, Tuscany, Italy
Chocolate!
The Swiss Institute, New York, New York
Spirits on the Crossing: Travellers to/from Nowhere.
Contemporary Art in Canada 1980-1994
Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo; The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; Hokkaido Museum
of Modern Art, Sapporo, Japan
|
1994 |
Corpus I & II
Gairloch and Centennial Galleries, Oakville, OntarioSocial Fabric
Beaver College Art Gallery, Glenside, Pennsylvania
Heart of Darkness
Kröller Müller Museum, Oterloo, The Netherlands
Trans
Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris, France
Hors limite
Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris, France
. . . ou leas oiseaux selon Schopenhauer
Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Agen, Agen, France
Séduction
Galerie René Blouin, Montréal, Québec
|
1993 |
Uber Leben
Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, GermanySpace of
Time: Contemporary Art from the Americas
Americas Society, New York, Center for the Fine Arts, Miami, Florida
De la main à la tête, l'objet théorique
Centre d'art contemporain du domaine de Kerguéhennec, Locminé, France
Elective Affinities
Tate Gallery Liverpool, Liverpool, England
Canada, une nouvelle génération
FRAC de Pays de la Loire, Clisson, Musée des Beaux-Arts/FRAC Franche-Comté, Dole, France
. . . Just to Name a Few
Barbara Weiss Gallery, Berlin, Germany
At the Edge of Chaos - New Images of the World
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
|
1992 |
Generique 1: Desordres
Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, FranceBetween the Sheets
P.P.O.W., New York, New York
Interntionale Kunstlerplakate
Saarbrucken, Germany
Power Play
The Betty Rymer Gallery, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois;
Donald Young Gallery, Seattle, Washington
|
1991 |
The Wealth of Nations
Centre for Contemporry Art Ujazdowski Castle, Varsovie, PolandUn-natural Traces. Contemporary Art from Canada
Barbican Art Gallery, London, England
Interiors
Galerie Crousel-Robelin/BAMA, Paris, France
Un archipel de désirs: les artistes du Québec et la
scène internationale
Musée du Québec, Québec
With This Ring . . .
Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, Engalnd
The Embodied Viewer
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Vanitas
Galerie Crousel-Robelin/BAMA, Paris, France
|
1990 |
Goya to Beijing
Centre international d'art contemporain, Montréal, Québec; Vancouver Art Gallery,
Vancouver, British ColumbiaFour Cities Project
Newcastle, England
Figuring the Body
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
Aperto '90
Venice Biennale, Vencie, Italy
Diagnosis
Art Gallery of York University, North York, Ontario
|
1989 |
Canadian Biennial of
Contemporary Art
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, OntarioDark
Room
Artists Space, New York, New York
|
1988 |
Impossible Self
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British
ColumbiaIdentity, Identities
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Group Material
Dia Foundatin, New York, New York
Disturbance/Enchantment
The Power Plant, Toronto, Ontario
|
1987 |
Subject/Object
56 Bleeker Gallery Limited, New York, New York |
1986 |
Oevres Ex-Centrées
Galerie René Blouin, Montréal, QuébecSongs
of Experience/Chants d'expérience
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Jana Sterbak, Krysztof Wodiczko
49th Parallel, New York, New York; Nexus Gallery of Contemporary Art, Atlanta,
Georgia (travelling)
Sept sculpteurs canadiens
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Québec
Postmarked New York
Southern Albera Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
|
1985 |
Anadromous
Mchael Katz Gallery, New York, New YorkIda
Appelbroog and Jana Sterbak
Glendon Galley, Toronto, Ontario
|
1984 |
Works Selected by David
Rabinowich
49th Parallel, New YorkInfluencing
Machines
YYZ Artists' Outlet, Toronto, Ontario
Canada/New York
49th Parallel, New York
|
1983 |
Unaffiliated Artists
International Exposure, Toronto, OntarioSmall
Works
Pomona University Gallery, California
Small Works
San Diego University Gallery, California
|
1982 |
Photos by Artists
Galerie France Morin, Montréal, QuébecMonumenta
YYZ Artists' Outlet, Toronto, Ontario
Menues manoeuvres
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, Québec
Four artists
S.L. Simpson Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
|
1981 |
The New YYZ, Toronto, Ontario |
1979 |
Bookworks
Powerhouse, Montréal, Québec |
1978 |
5 Artists
Galerie Optica, Montréal, Québec |
COLLECTIONS
"Caixa", Barcelona, Spain
Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris, France
Fonds national d'art contemporain, France
FRAC Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Québec
Musée d'art contemporani de Barcelona, Spain
Musée d'art moderne de Saint Étienne, France
Musée de Marseille, France
Musée départemental de Rochechouart, France
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, France
Musée du Québec, Québec
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
San Diego Museum of Contemporay Art, San Diego, California
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andreae, Janice. "Jana Sterbak." Parachute
49 (December 1987-February 1988): 39-40.
Baert, Renée. Enchantment/Disturbance. Toronto, Ontario: The Power Plant, 1988.
Balfour, Barbara McGill, and Randy Hemminghaus. "Jana Sterbak." Vanguard
16, no.4 (September/October 1987): 38-39.Bradley,
Jessica, and Diana Nemiroff. Songs of Experience. Ottawa, Ontario: National
Gallery of Canada, 1986.
Couëlle, Jennifer. "Dissiper l'illusion, mais
laquelle? Jana Sterbak au Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal." Espace 30
(Winter 1995): 41-42.
Desordres: Nan Goldin, Mike Kelley, Kiki Smith, Jana
Sterbak,
Tunga. Paris, France: Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, 1992.
Evans-Clark, Philip. Jana Sterbak/Krysztof Wodiczko. New
York, New York: 49th Parallel and Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art, 1986.
Ferguson, Bruce. Jana Sterbak. New York, New York: The New Museum of
Contemporary Art, 1990.
---, and Sandy Nairne. The Impossible Self. Winnipeg,
Manitoba: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1988.
Gale, Peggy. "Focus on Jana Sterbak." Canadian
Art 5, no.3 (Fall 1988): 125.
Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume. Désordres. Paris,
France: Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, 1992.
Greenberg, Reesa. "Jana Sterbak." C
Magazine 16 (Winter 1987-88): 50-53.
"Its really a red herring (Jana Sterbak: Vanitas,
Flesh Dress For An Albino Anorexic)." Fuse Magazine, 14 no.4 (Spring 1991):
11.
Jackson, Marni. "The Body Electric." Canadian
Art 6, no.1 (Spring 1989): 64-71.
Jana Sterbak / Jana Sterbak. Nantes, France,
Musée des beaux-arts de Nantes, 1994.
"Jana Sterbak: Trichotilomania." Spirale 149
(July/August 1996): 24.
Madill, Shirley J. Identity/Identities: Shelagh
Alexander, Kati Campbell, Janice Gurney, Mary Scott, Cindy Sherman, Nancy Spero and Jana
Sterbak. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1988.
McFadden, David. "Jana Sterbak." Vanguard
15, no. 1 (February/March 1986): 45-46.
McGregor, Jane. "New Metaphors For the Body as Self in the Art of Liz Magor and Jana
Sterbak." M.A. Thesis, Carleton University.
Miller, Earl. "Jana Sterbak." Art Post
5, no. 2 (Winter 1987-88): 11-15.
Milroy, Sarah. "The Flesh Dress: A Defence." Canadian
Art 8, no. 2 (Summer 1991): 72.
Morgan, Stuart, and Frances Morris. Rites of Passage:
Art for the End of the Century. With contributions by Stephen Greenblatt, Julia
Kristeva, and Charles Penwarden. London, England: Tate Gallery Publications, 1995.
Murray, Irena Zantovska. Jana Sterbak: Metamorphosis.
Providence, Rhode Island: David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University, 1997.
---. "Velleitas: Jana Sterbak." Parachute
82 (April/May/June 1996): 66.
Nemiroff, Diana. Canadian Biennial of Contemporary
Art. Ottawa, Ontario: National Gallery of Canada, 1991.
---. Jana Sterbak: States of Being/ Corps à corps.
Ottawa, Ontario: National Gallery of Canada, 1991.
Noble, Richard. "The laboratory of the self." Parachute
64 (October/November/December 1991): 41-43.
Perry, Richard. Review of Jana Sterbak: States of
Being, by Diana Nemiroff. Books In Canada 20, no.5 (June/July 1991): 36-37.
St-Gelais, Therese. Diagonales Montréal: 10
monographies. Montréal, Québec: Parachute, 1992.
Scott, Kitty, and Johanne Sloan. "Jana
Sterbak." Parachute 55 (July/August/September 1989): 46-47.
Sterbak, Jana. Jana Sterbak: March 16 - May 5, 1989,
Mackenzie Art Gallery,
Regina. Regina, Saskatchewan: Norman MacKenzie Gallery, 1989.
---, and Ihor Holubizky. Jana Sterbak. Toronto,
Ontario: Power Plant, 1988.
Town, Elke. "Influencing Machines." Parachute
36 (September/November 1984): 58-60. |
|