Sydni Gause (b. 1989, Leesburg, FL) is an interdisciplinary artist raised in the American South. She received a BFA from Watkins College of Art, Design & Film and an MFA in Sculpture/Dimensional Studies from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Drawing from a conservative upbringing in the rural south, Gause’s work investigates identity through the lens of cultural expectations, kinship, and tradition. Engaging in a transdisciplinary approach to sculpture, she reimagines the weight of gendered symbols, religious practices, and how they influence the collective and individualized self. Approaching soft materials through the eyes of her family’s matriarchal leadership, Gause highlights and exposes the truths of her combined past and present. In recent work, Gause explores the landscape of memory. Raised by three generations of women in the orange groves of central Florida, Gause seeks a space where family can be met with equality and emotional abundance. Borrowing from the language of domestic craft, Gause begins to sew and quilt new narratives for herself and the viewer. These narratives transgress the constructs and boundaries of the everyday; she sees them as the ones that tell the secrets. Using materials like sheep hair, antique necklaces, and embroidery hoops, Gause begins to challenge the fabric of her heritage and the learned ideals that have oppressed. By exposing these conditions Gause begins to take on the truth she wishes she was told. Gause’s work has been exhibited nationally with the artist collectives: SHE BENDS: Women in Neon, San Fransisco; Material Girls XOXO in Austin, Texas and SAME in Brooklyn, New York. In 2018, Gause was invited to have a solo exhibition Addressing you and I; Addressing we, at Lock Haven University in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and is scheduled for group shows throughout 2022.
Currently based in North Florida Gause teaches as Adjunct faculty within the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Gulf Coast State College.sydnigause@gmail.com
EDUCATION
2018 MFA Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred University - Alfred NY 2012 BFA Watkins College of Art, Design & Film (WCAD) - Nashville TN SELECTED EXHIBITIONS / Solo*
2021 AbstractTENN, Channel to Channel, Chattanooga TN
2021 Cut From the Same Cloth, Panama City Center for the Arts, Panama City FL
2020 Art-In-Place, Terrain Exhibitions, Alfred NY
2020 Listen to the Big People and the Little People, CD Smith Gallery, Alfred University
2020 Revisiting Project - Modern Hieroglyphs Mural by Anthony Lee, Memphis TN
2019 The Assigned Self - The Federation Auditorium, Hornell NY 2019 In Good Company - Fosdick Nelson Gallery, Alfred NY 2018 Addressing you & I; Addressing we - Sloan Fine Arts Center, Lock Haven University * 2018 Addressing you & I; Addressing we - Fosdick Nelson Gallery, Alfred NY * 2018 SAME: Material Girls - Pfizer 630, Brooklyn NY 2018 She Bends: Women in Neon - Midway Gallery, San Francisco CA 2018 Selects - Online Exhibition, Locate Arts, Nashville TN 2018 Visibility - Turner Gallery, Alfred NY 2018 XOXO - Museum of Human Achievement - Austin TX 2017 HELLO GIRLS - No Vacancy 3, Brooklyn NY 2017 Within/Between - The Belfry, Hornell NY 2017 All The Good Names AR - Turner Gallery, Alfred NY 2016 Dream A Reality - WAG, Nashville TN 2016 Florida Lottery - Channel to Channel, Nashville TN * 2015 Easy, Girl - Channel to Channel, Nashville TN 2012 The Anxious Object - BFA Thesis, WCAD * 2012 K-Value - Cheekwood Museum of Art, Nashville TN 2012 Brownlee O. Currey Student Juried Show, WCAD 2011 Shift - Studio One Twenty, Franklin TN 2011 Oasis Benefit hosted by Nashville Scene - Oasis Center, Nashville TN 2011 Layers - Studio One Twenty, Franklin TN 2010 Brownlee O. Currey Student Juried Show, WCAD TEACHING|PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2021 Adjunct Instructor - Understanding Visual Arts, Gulf Coast State College2020 Sculpture Instructor - Material Poetics, Division of Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, Alfred University
2020 Sculpture Instructor - Intro to Sculpture, Division of Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, Alfred University
2020 Foundations Instructor - Co:Lab, Foundations Division, Alfred University 2020 Teaching Assistant to Coral Lambert - Junior Foundry, Sculpture Division, Alfred University 2020 Foundry Technician - Division of Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, Alfred University 2019 Foundry Technician - Division of Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, Alfred University 2019 Neon Technician - Division Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, Alfred University 2019 Teaching Assistant to James Hansen - Topics & Debates, Division of Art History, Alfred University 2019 Sculpture Adjunct Professor - Intro to Sculpture, Division of Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, Alfred University 2019 Foundations Instructor - MAKE:Lab, Foundations Division, Alfred University 2018 Sculpture Instructor - Intro to Sculpture (Sec 1), Division of Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, Alfred University 2018 Sculpture Instructor - Intro to Sculpture (Sec 2), Division of Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, Alfred University 2018 Teaching Assistant to Laura McGough - Topics & Debates, Division of Art History, Alfred University 2018 Social Media Manager - Division of Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, Alfred University 2017 Teaching Assistant to Sarah Blood - Glass + Light, Alfred University 2017 Teaching Assistant to Coral Lambert - Intro to Sculpture, Alfred University 2016 Teaching Assistant to Judy Livingston - SEE:Lab, Foundations Division, Alfred University 2016 Artist Manager - Fine Art by Deann Hebert, Franklin TN 2015 Gallery Intern - Seed Space, Nashville TN 2015 Gallery Assistant - Channel to Channel, Nashville TN PRINT|DIGITAL MEDIA
2020 Weave Podcast Interview: Gist Yarn & Fiber
2018 Review: MATERIAL GIRLS xoxo, Conflict of Interest, Volume Three 2018 Sydni Gause, Artist Registry, Locate Arts 2016 Florida Lottery, Channel to Channel, Nashville Scene 2015 Easy, Girl, Channel to Channel, Nashville Scene 2015 Easy, Girl, Channel to Channel, Nashville Arts Magazine2012 The Anxious Object, Watkins Fine Art Thesis Exhibition, Nashville Scene 2012 K-Value, Cheekwood Museum of Art Exhibition, Nashville Arts Magazine PANELS|PUBLIC LECTURES|CURATORIAL
2020 Curator: Foraged Stories, Cube Gallery Space, Alfred University
2020 Co-Curator: Identity in the Public Sphere, Foundations Division, Alfred University, Alfred NY2020 Guest Artist: Eco Dye & Felting Workshop, Intro to Sculpture, Alfred University, Alfred NY 2019 Guest Artist: Fiber Arts, Alfred University, Alfred NY2019 Guest Artist: Eco Dye & Felting Workshop, Intro to Sculpture, Alfred University, Alfred NY 2019 Co-Curator: Neighbors, Hornell Community Arts Center, Hornell NY 2019 Guest Artist: Felting Workshop, Art & Ecology, Alfred University, Alfred NY2018 Curator: A Space for Conversation, WALK-INS WELCOME, Hornell NY 2018 Guest Lecturer: Lock Haven University, Lock Haven PA2017 Panelist: Desire: Objectification of the Body, Alfred University, Alfred NY