James Siena
James Siena: New Drawings*
*(on Old Paper)
March 12 – April 17, 2026
Reception: Thursday, March 12th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Bookstein Projects is pleased to announce an exhibition of new drawings by James Siena. This is the artist's second solo show with Bookstein Projects, presented in cooperation with Miles McEnery Gallery.
The drawings in this exhibition were all made over the last six months on vintage paper that, in some cases, is over sixty years old. Siena has been acquiring vintage paper over the course of many years from a myriad of sources. Some of the paper mills that produced the paper include T.H. Sauders, Whatman and J Barcham Green, which made a special paper for the Queen’s Jubilee in 1977, also included here. Most, if not all of this paper, is no longer made. Prized for their texture and quality, these papers have a unique surface that vary from work to work.
As with all works in Siena’s practice, these drawings were created with a system of self-imposed rules called “visual algorithms” that allow the artist to create these labyrinth-like structures. Starting with a sinuous line that undulates across the surface of the drawings, Siena often retraces and outlines his original composition with additional lines of varying thickness and color. For some drawings, including Tubular Bells and Zabian’s, the artist uses a light table and templates made of museum board. The result is a mesmerizing network of lines that call to mind such associations as neural synapses, topographic maps and lace fabrics.
James Siena (b. 1957, Oceanside, CA) received his BFA from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. For over two decades, the artist has taught at New York’s School of Visual Arts in the MFA department. He is a board member of the Corporation of Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY, the National Academy of Design, New York, and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Siena was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fine Arts by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 2021.
Siena’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, Baronian Xippas, Brussels, Dieu Donné, New York, Galerie Xippas, Paris, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Pace Gallery, New York, Pace Prints, New York, The Print Center, Philadelphia, Ratio 3, San Francisco, and the University Art Museum, University of Albany, New York, among others.
The artist has participated in numerous group exhibitions including those at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, among others.
His work is in numerous institutional collections including the Hammer Museum, University of California, Los Angeles, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
The artist lives and works in New York, NY and Otis, MA.
James Siena: New Drawings (on Old Paper) will be on view from March 12 – April 17, 2026. An opening reception with the artist will be held on Thursday, March 12th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. For additional information and/or visual materials, please contact the gallery at (212) 750-0949 or by email at info@booksteinprojects.com.