Kirsten Tradowsky

Overview
Kirsten Tradowsky

According to Kirsten Tradowsky, painting is a means of excavation. Her work starts with a found image, often discarded at an estate sale or buried online. Whether it is a forgotten family snapshot or a stack of dishes, the objects are reanimated through the act of painting. In the process, lines, light, and details are dramatized and diminished, uncovering new meaning that encourages a dialogue across time.

 

Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States, including at the de Young Museum and the Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles. Tradowsky earned a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and an MFA from the California College of the Arts. She currently works and resides in Minneapolis.

Works
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, Docked, 2024
    Docked, 2024
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, Poolside Afternoon, 2024
    Poolside Afternoon, 2024
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, Tree Climbers, 2024
    Tree Climbers, 2024
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, Park Picnic
    Park Picnic
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, Seal Watching
    Seal Watching
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, Sisterhood
    Sisterhood
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, South of Bernal Hill
    South of Bernal Hill
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, Woman in Gold Car
    Woman in Gold Car
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, Sunset Hotel
    Sunset Hotel
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, Ocean Beach
    Ocean Beach
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, Cruising Poolside
    Cruising Poolside
  • Kirsten Tradowsky, Ring Toss
    Ring Toss
Exhibitions
Biography
Kirsten Tradowsky

Education

2006 MFA Painting, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA

2003 BFA Painting, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH

 

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2022 Gatherings, Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA 

2018 Time Echo, Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 

2017 Time Flip, SHOH Gallery, Berkeley, CA

2016 Classic Palm Springs, Geras Tousignant Gallery, Palm Springs, CA

2016 Explorations, Hang Art, San Francisco, CA 

2014 Past Perfect, Pease Gallery, Charlotte, NY

2010 Intermission, Hotel Biron, San Francisco, CA

2010 Matinee, Revolver Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2009 Gravity Index, Tinlark Gallery, Hollywood, CA

2007 Hokey Pokey, Tinlark Gallery, Hollywood, CA

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

2020-21  “The de Young Open,” The de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA

2017 Squared Alumni, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2017 48 Pillars, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2016 Fresh stART, Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

2015 Face Value, Gensler Art, San Francisco, CA

2015 Hello My Name Is, Hang Art, San Francisco, CA

2014 FourSquared, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2014 Allegory, Hang Art, San Francisco, CA

2013 Transported, Gary Francis Fine Art, Alameda, CA

2013 Specific and Anonymous, Hang Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2012 Small Works Show, Art Zone 461, San Francisco, CA

2010 This is My Education, Art in General Gallery, New York, NY

2010 Oodles of Doodles, Tinlark Gallery, Hollywood, CA

2010 Fresh stART, Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

2009 Fresh stART, Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

2009 Shifting Paradigms, Gallery 560, San Francisco, CA

2008 Eleven, 11 Reeves Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2008 Red Dot, Tinlark Gallery, New York, NY

2008 First Anniversary Group Show, Tinlark Gallery, Hollywood, CA

2006 Summer Group Show, Bucheon Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2006 California College of the Arts MFA Thesis Exhibition, San Francisco, CA

2005 Murphy & Cadogan Fellowships Award Exhibition, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2005 The Preciousonian Economy, Play Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2005 The Yard Show, Hotel Biron, San Francisco, CA

2003 The Cleveland Institute of Art Top Twenty BFA Show, Reinberger Gallery, Cleveland, OH

2003 The Cleveland Institute of Art BFA Show, Reinberger Gallery, Cleveland, OH

 

Residencies

2009 Art in the Every Day, Teachers: Claire Gavronsky and Rose Shakinovsky, Oakland, CA

2006 La Cipressaia Workshop, Teachers: Claire Gavronsky and Rose Shakinovsky, Italy

 

Grants & Awards

2005 The Murphy & Cadogan Fellowship Award in Painting

2002 The Paul Travis Memorial Award in Painting

2003-1998 Cleveland Institute of Art Portfolio Grant

 

Bibliography

The Los Angeles Times, by Sharon Mizota, July 3, 2018

Lenscratch Interview, Fine Art Photography Daily, Blog, 2018

The Jealous Curator, 2014

Seth Swirsky, Watercolor Day, CD Design, 2010

Wallpaper Magazine, November, 2009

Caitlin Williams & James Freeman, “Sneak Peek,” DESIGN* SPONGE BLOG, 2009

THE FAMILY ROOM, www.susanetlinger.typepad.com, 2007

“15 Years,” New American Paintings Magazine, 2007

Oxford American Magazine, Issue 59, 2007

“MFA Annual Winner,” New American Paintings Magazine, Volume 12, Issue 3, 2007

Events