Biography

Sidonie Villere has a BFA in Ceramics from The Newcomb School of Art at Tulane University and an MFA in Ceramics from The University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. As an artist her work has been exhibited across the United States and is in the permanent collection of several museums including The New Orleans Museum of Art and The Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Her work has also been acquired by Saks Fifth Avenue Department Stores in New York, Boston, Phoenix, San Francisco, Beverly Hills and Chicago.

Villere is an abstract artist exploring themes of the human condition and self-preservation. Through her paintings and sculptures she blends various mediums creating a refined physicality. As a sculptor, her ceramic works often use geology to shape metaphorical self-portraits. As a painter, Villere layers non-traditional materials maintaining a painterly effect while also pushing her sculptural aesthetic.

She has had solo exhibitions in Miami and New Orleans and been featured in numerous group exhibitions in Atlanta, Miami, New York and New Orleans. As a curator, she has organized national ceramic exhibitions in New Orleans and Portland, OR. Her large-scale works were recently featured in The P.1 Projects satellite exhibition at the Prospect.1 Biennial Welcome Center in 2008. Villere's work is also included in the publication, 500 Ceramic Sculptures: Contemporary Practice, Singular Work, by Glen Brown, 2009.

Villere lives and works in New Orleans, LA where she maintains an active studio.

SIDONIE VILLERE RESUME

New Orleans, Louisiana

Email sidonievillere@me.com


EDUCATION

  • 1997 Figure Modeling, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
  • 1996-1998 Ceramics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
  • 1998-2000 Bachelor of Fine Arts - Ceramics, Major Art History Minor, Newcomb College of Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
  • 2001-2004 Master of Fine Arts Ceramics, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA


SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

  • 2017 Interruption, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2010 Impressions: Solo Exhibition, Tinney Contemporary, Nashville, TN
  • 2009 Camouflage, Solo Exhibition, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2008 Phenomena of Change: Solo Exhibition, Steve Martin Studios, Miami, FL
  • 2007 Organic Intervention: Solo Exhibition, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2004 Thesis Exhibition, UMass Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA


SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

  • 2018 Responsorial: The Second Sex and the Contemporary Dialectics of Misogyny, New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts, New Orleans, LA
  • 2016 EXCHANGE, Galerie Jochen Hempel, Berlin, Germany
  • 2015 Reverb, CAC, New Orleans, LA
  • 2015 Inspired by Land, Gallery 244, New Bedford, MA
  • 2015 Sidonie Villere, VOLTA11, Basel, Switzerland
  • 2014 Limbo, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2014 Guns In The Hands Of Artists, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2014 Preserve, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2013 Crescent City Connection, Dishman Museum, Beaumont, TX
  • 2012 Adjust, Reynolds Ryan Gallery at Newman School, New Orleans, LA
  • 2012 NOLA NOW Part II: Abstraction in Louisiana, Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans, LA
  • 2011 White on White, Cynthia Volk Asian Art, New York, NY
  • 2011 Wrapped, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2011 January White Sale, Loretta Howard Gallery, New York, NY
  • 2010 The Sublime and the Silly, UNO-St. Claude Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2009 Art Melt, Brunner Gallery, Shaw Center, Baton Rouge, LA
  • 2008 P1 Projects, Hefler Building, New Orleans, LA
  • 2008 40 Days and 40 Nights, Louisiana State Archives, Baton Rouge, LA
  • 2008 Material, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2007 Kaleidoscope Katrina, Windows of Lord and Taylor Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
  • 2006 New Orleans Artists in Exile, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2006 New Orleans Artists in Exile, Steve Martin Studios, Miami, FL
  • 2006 Shreveport Regional Arts Council, ARTSPACE, Shreveport, LA
  • 2006 South Coast Clay, Gallery 301, Mobile, AL
  • 2006 Thresholds: Innovations in Clay, Portland, OR
  • 2006 New Orleans Artists In Exile, Atlanta, GA
  • 2005 Clay, A Compelling Expression, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2005 Ceramic Currents: Program in Artisanry 1975-2003, Anne Arundel Community College, Pascal Center Gallery, Arnold, MD
  • 2004 Connections, Open Door Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
  • 2004 Thesis Exhibition, UMass Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA
  • 2003 Glass Case Show, UMass Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA
  • 2003 Ceramics in Progress, Gallery 244, New Bedford, MA
  • 2003 The New Generation: Current Work from the Program in Artisanry, Gallery 244, New Bedford, MA
  • 2003 Tabor Academy, Marion, MA
  • 2002 Ernie’s Gallery Window, New Bedford, MA
  • 2002 Artists Connected by Water, University Art Gallery, New Bedford, MA. Sponsored by the Lloyd Center of Environmental Studies
  • 2002 Transformation, Gallery 244, New Bedford, MA
  • 2001 Glimpse Show, Gallery 244, New Bedford, MA
  • 2001 Mt.Washington Conference Center, Baltimore, MD
  • 2001 Millbrook School Gallery, Millbrook, NY
  • 2000 Woldenberg Gallery, Newcomb School, New Orleans, LA
  • Twenty Piece Graduating BFA Exhibit


SELECTED PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

  • Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody, The Bunker, Palm Beach, FL
  • Beatrice Laubscher, Solothurn, Switzerland
  • Dr. Jonathan Lampert, New York, NY
  • Estate of Howard Barnett, New Orleans, LA
  • Galila Barzilai-Hollander, Brussels, Belgium
  • James Mouenger, New Orleans, LA
  • Louellen and Darryl Berger, New Orleans, LA
  • LSU Museum of Art, Baton Rouge, LA
  • New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
  • Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans LA
  • Roger Ogden, New Orleans, LA
  • Saks Fifth Avenue Department Stores, New York, NY
  • Steve and Dana Hansel, New Orleans, LA
  • Valerie Besthoff, New Orleans, LA
  • Wendy and George Rodrigue, New Orleans, LA


WORKSHOPS AND RESIDENCIES

  • 2005 Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, TX
    • Three-week residency in October right after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast.
  • Summer 2003 Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO
    • Handbuilding Workshop taught by Sally Brogden
  • Summer 2003 Sierra Nevada College, Incline Village, NV
    • Photographing the Tahoe Basin, Workshop taught by Russell Dudley
  • 2001 Peter Callas Workshop, Belvedere, NJ
    • Japanese Pottery Workshop
  • 1999-2007 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference (NCECA)
    • Columbus, Ohio, 1999
    • Denver, Colorado, 2000
    • Charlotte, NC, 2001
    • San Diego, CA, 2003
    • Baltimore, Maryland, 2005
    • Portland, Oregon, 2006
    • Louisville, KY, 2007


RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE

  • 2005-2013 Ceramics Teacher, Louise S. McGehee School, New Orleans LA
    • Taught part-time to juniors and seniors
  • 2008 Co-Curator, Material, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2006 Co-Curator, Thresholds: Innovative Clay, Ogle Gallery, Portland, OR
  • 2005 Visiting Artist, Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, NC
  • 2005 Curator, Clay, A Compelling Expression, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • 2004 Exhibition Programmer, Louisiana ArtWorks, New Orleans, LA
  • 2003 Graduate Teaching Assistant, UMass Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA
    • Taught Beginning Handbuilding
  • 2003 Volunteer, NCECA, San Diego, CA
  • 2003 Visiting Artist, Tabor Academy, Marion, MA
  • 2002 Graduate Teaching Assistant, UMass Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA
  • 2001-2004 Member, Gallery 244, UMass Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA
  • 2001 Ceramics Representative for the Buyers Market of American Craft, Baltimore, MD
  • 2000 Internship, Neal Auction House, New Orleans, LA


HONORS AND AWARDS

  • 2009 Art Melt 2nd Place Prize
    • Jurors: Dan Cameron, Brian Young, Ann Connelly, Brunner Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
  • 2007 Love in the Garden Honoree, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
  • 2005 Invited Participant, Southern Arts Federation Summit, Atlanta, GA
  • 2004 Public Commission, Jefferson Parish Courthouse, Gretna, LA
  • 2002-2003 Teaching Assistantships, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
    • Hand Building, Foundations: Visual Language and 3-D Concepts New Bedford, MA
  • 2000 Award Recipient, Juanita Gonzales Prize in Ceramics, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA


PUBLICATIONS

  • 2017 “New Orleans Art Review”. Jonathan Ferrara Gallery Press Archive, Summer/Fall 2017
  • 2017 “Partly Interrupted”. Jonathan Ferrara Gallery Press Archive, June 1, 2017.
  • 2017 “Happy 40th Julia Jump, A Preservation Resource Center Benefit”. NOLA.com, April 21, 2017.
  • 2017 “Interruption and Discovery: Sidonie Villere at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery”. Pelican Bomb, July 14, 2017.
  • 2015 “How Hurricane Katrina Influenced This Artist’s Work”. Architectural Digest, August 28, 2015.
  • 2015 “Post Storm Production: New Orleans museums look to artists and their practice.” The Art Newspaper, August 26, 2015.
  • 2015 “Ten Years After Katrina, New Orleans Museums Reckon With Recovery”. The New York Times, August 19, 2015.
  • 2012 “Mark Tullos’ Nominees for: Up-and-Coming Regional Artists”. Country Roads Adventures Close to Home, 2013.
  • 2011 “Artfully done: Short and Sweet." New Orleans Homes and Lifestyles, Winter, 2011
  • 2010 “New Orleans artist leaves Impressions in mesh screen”. The Tennessean, November 14, 2010.
  • 2009 “Gauze to Reflect”. Gambit Weekly, March 17, 2009.
  • 2008 “After the flood…Exhibit to focus on Hurricane Katrina’s impact on New Orleans”. LexisNexis News, August 3, 2008, Main Edition, E, Pg. 1.
  • 2008 “New Works By Sidonie Villere At Steve Martin Studio”. Wynwood, The Art Magazine, May 2008, Volume 1 No. 9.
  • 2007 “The public meets Paul Chan and New Orleans artists show their work in the Big Apple”. The Times-Picayune, September 28, 2007
  • 2007 “Earthly Passions”. Gambit Weekly, June 12, 2007.
  • 2006 “Exhibit reflects anguish of New Orleans artists”. Indystar.com, January 28, 2006.
  • 2005 “No Pots Allowed: A dozen sculptors throw an admirable show”. The Times-Picayune, May 27, 2005.

All Images © Sidonie Villere

Artist Statement

I believe our purpose is to connect. I also believe we can not connect without being vulnerable.

With my work I rely on contradictions spurred by self-preservation.

Through my sculptures, this exploration visually relies on referencing human and geological processes; both giving surface and form to my emotional expressions.

The pieces are born through revealing and concealing, intentionally and intuitively making the emotional physical.

They are architectural versus geological, destroying versus repairing, protected versus exposed.

Creating these self-portraits with three dimensional, abstract, ceramic sculptures and multi-media paintings I am able to edit these dichotomies so that the viewer is left with a minimal physicality and an overall mood.

All Images © Sidonie Villere