Ferdinanda Florence

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About the Artist:

Ferdinanda Florence was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in Arlington, VA.  She received a degree in art history and studio art at The American University in 1994, and has continued to pursue a successful professional life as a scholar, teacher, and practicing artist.  She earned her Master’s degree in art history at the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1998.

 

A second-generation Armenian-America, Ferdinanda has explored in her research the role of place in artistic expression.  Her Master’s thesis detailed the link between Armenian religious rituals and church architecture.  In her travel to sites in France, Italy, and Germany, she has researched the symbolism of doorway and floor decoration in Romanesque buildings.  In her artwork, she uses industrial sites in her home city of Vallejo to explore issues of place on a more personal level. 

 

Ferdinanda’s exhibitions reflect her varied interests and concerns.  Her work has appeared at the Di Rosa Preserve, Napa (“All in the Family IV,” 2005); the University of San Francisco Law School (“Creative Justice: A Social Art Exhibit,” 2005); and as set decoration for a Bay Area Playwrights Festival performance at the Magic Theater, San Francisco (“As American As,” 2006).  Her drawings were selected for exhibition at the next FATE Biennial Conference at the Savannah College of Art and Design in April, 2013.

Résumé:

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2017    25 Under 26, Elisa Contemporary Art, New York

            Journey Around the World, Elisa Contemporary Art, New York

Ferdinanda Florence/Wynne Hayakawa, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2016    Wild Places in Urban Spaces, Artiszen Cultural Arts Center, Vallejo, CA

2015    New Beginnings, Elisa Contemporary Art, New York, NY

            Aqua Art Miami (FL), Elisa Contemporary Art, NY

2014    Ferdinanda Florence/Wynne Hayakawa, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA

            Altered Landscapes, Arts Benicia

2013    FATE Juried Members Exhibition, Savannah, GA

2012    Summer in South Park (Again) Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2011    Ferdinanda Florence/Wynne Hayakawa, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2006    Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Magic Theater, San Francisco, CA  Artwork to accompany the performance of “As American As”

2005    All in the Family IV, Di Rosa Preserve, Napa, CA

Creative Justice: A Social Justice Art Exhibit, University of San Francisco Law School, San Francisco, CA

Presentations

2011    FATE Conference, St. Louis, MO, “What’s Appreciation Got to Do with It?”

Publications

Textbook:

2014    Approaches to Art:  A Journey in Art Education, Cognella Academic Publishing

Education

San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

2010    Master of Fine Arts: Painting,

 

University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD

1999    Doctoral research, Western Medieval art,

1998    Master of Arts: Art History, Eastern Medieval art (Armenian)

1996    Graduate Fellowship and Teaching Assistantship,

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The American University, Washington, DC 

1994    Bachelor of Arts: Art History and Studio Art (Summa Cum Laude)

Statement:

ARTIST STATEMENT

In both my art and my teaching, I am interested in the concept of liminal—or threshold—spaces, and how the slippery boundaries between inside and outside can act as metaphors for life’s unresolvable paradoxes. Featuring sites in my adopted city of Vallejo, CA, my paintings represent a personal exploration of loss and longing for something untenable and possibly irretrievable.

Almost all of my subjects are industrial or commercial areas, rather than private residences. They are "home" to no one, but I am drawn to them, and find in them something personal and familiar. I admire the resiliency of the architecture, beautifully proportioned, low and obstinately hugging the ground. Yet the buildings’ faces are impassive; despite welcoming awnings and occasional doorways, the buildings here deny ready access. They are difficult to place, both in time and spatially.

Vallejo itself has been cast as a “slipping” city, with unrealized promise—always on the cusp of “arriving,” yet also at risk of being declared a lost cause. While these sites suggest unresolved social and economic issues for the city, they represent for me a psychological space—a place for personal reconnaissance.

Associated News

Associated Exhibitions

Holiday Gift Ideas 2020
Treat others this year or yourself with a gift you'll love forever!
November 25 - December 25, 2020
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Artwork for the Home: A Contemporary Look at Traditional Design
Join us for a special Art Collecting Talk at Estate Treasures in Old Greenwich
February 19 - March 6, 2018
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25 Under 26
Featuring 25 artworks - starting at $300 and all priced under $2,600!
October 13 - December 14, 2017
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Journey Around the World
October 6, 2016 - January 19, 2017
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Pulp Fiction
February 25 - April 30, 2016
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Spring Affordable Art Fair in NYC
Visit us in Booth 1.15 March 30-April 3
March 30 - April 3, 2016
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New Beginnings Opens October 8th
Meet our new International artists
October 8 - December 10, 2015
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Thank you for visiting us at Aqua Art Miami 2015
Dec. 2nd - 6th
December 1 - December 6, 2015
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