Bio
Sarah Umles (b. 1986, Germany) is a queer Ashkenazi Jewish artist, independent curator, arts administrator, and collector living on Gabrieleño-Tongva land in Los Angeles, California. Sarah's interdisciplinary practice spans installation, digital media, text, performance, relational aesthetics/social sculpture, and experimental curatorial practices. Most notably, her work has been shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (IL); California Museum of Photography (CA); Stove Works (TN); Franconia Sculpture Park (MN); Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (MA); and CICA Museum (South Korea). She’s been awarded residencies with the MOUNT Curatorial Residency at Design Cloud Gallery, Chicago; Franconia Sculpture Park; Gracia in Antigua, Guatemala (a UNESCO World Heritage Site); Stove Works; BONFIRE; and Soaring Gardens.
Sarah is the founder and director of The Residency Project—an artist residency and project space that emphasizes opportunities for historically underrepresented artists and artists who actively pursue environmentally sustainable practices. As an independent curator, she has organized numerous exhibitions in both traditional and alternative contexts across Chicago, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis. Sarah holds an MA in Arts Administration & Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA in Creative Writing with a minor in Film & Visual Culture from the University of California, Riverside.
Portrait of a Lady, 2022, medical grade silicone wrinkle patches on tempered Solexia® glass, aluminum hardware
CV
Education
MA Arts Administration & Policy - School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2012)
BA Creative Writing - University of California, Riverside (2008)
Site-Specific Performances/Installations
Patch, virtual installation, GRIEF GARDEN by tomorrow soup, grief.garden (ongoing)
Table for 3, performance, The Residency Project (August 2022)
Subtext, installation, Franconia Sculpture Park (May 2021–ongoing)
Wear Pattern, performance, Franconia Sculpture Park
Patch, installation and performance, Franconia Sculpture Park (May 2021–January 2022)
Waiting for Hello, video installation, Franconia Commons (April–June 2021)
Distillate, video installation, The Residency Project (2020)
Crystal Lucida, installation, California Institute of the Arts, Santa Clarita, CA (September 2017)
Crystal Lucida, installation, BoldPas, Old Pasadena Management District, Pasadena, CA (June 2017)
Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
Unearthed, Supplyframe DesignLab, Pasadena, CA (Upcoming: May 25–July 28, 2024)
Errata, Gallery 787, Pasadena, CA (Upcoming: March 30–April 15, 2024)
Lull, works by Jenn Sova & Sarah Umles, 1122 Gallery, Portland, OR (Upcoming: August 2023)
Group Exhibitions
At the Intersections, LA Climate Week Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (September 2024)
Songs, Sounds, & Poems, curated by raya marie hazell, The Residency Project (February 2024)
Absurdity: In Dada We Trust, The Art Center Highland Park, IL (June 23–August 5, 2023)
Nature 2023, CICA Museum, Gimpo, South Korea (February 22–March 12, 2023)
Birds of a Feather, curated by Raquel Mullins, Stove Works, Chattanooga, TN (December 2, 2022–January 27, 2023)
Out of Hand: Tradition Meets Tech, curated by Fabiola Delgado, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, Solomons, MD (October 14, 2022–January 22, 2023)
Textures, Shapes, Patterns and Forms, curated by Lori McBride, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA (September 1–30, 2022)
ART-IN-PLACE, CNL Projects and Terrain Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA (August 15 - September 30, 2022)
Everything Must Go, MOTOR, Los Angeles, CA (July 2022)
biennale.NO: The unbearable lightness of internet, Noemata (November 2020–January 2021)
Without You I’m Nothing: Interactions, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2011)
Eclectic People, California Museum of Photography, Riverside, CA (March 22 - April 24, 2008)
Curation
Inside a Red Home and After as Trees, solo exhibition by raya marie hazell, The Residency Project (March 13–15, 2024)
Terrain Biennial: Keeping in Touch, Mirage by Nora Maité Nieves, The Residency Project (October 2–November 15, 2021)
Interstice, Minneapolis, MN and Los Angeles, CA (May 15– 31 and July 1–August 31, 2021)
Interpretation Board, 200 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA (April 2020-ongoing)
Behind the Mask, Angels Gate Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA (January–March 2021)
EMERGE: Lerer Chen, The Residency Project, Pasadena, CA (January 2020)
Select Works from the Private Collection, The Residency Project, Pasadena, CA (2018-ongoing)
Intuitive Trainings: Selected Works by Veronica Bruce, The Shudio, Casa Duno, Chicago, IL (2014)
Revisiting Undomesticated, Design Cloud Gallery, Casa Duno, Chicago, IL (2013)
CONCEAL/REVEAL, Casa Duno, Chicago, IL (2013)
Amulets and Heirlooms, 2nd Floor Rear, Casa Duno, Chicago, IL (2013)
Vitrine, Casa Duno, Chicago, IL (2012)
Cross Sections, West Town Street Lab, Casa Duno, Chicago, IL (2012)
Prescribed Meanings, 2nd Floor Rear, Casa Duno, Chicago, IL (2012)
Undomesticated, Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival, Casa Duno, Chicago, IL (2011)
hypridentities, Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection, co-curated with Anqi Chen, Chicago, IL (2010)
Administration
Founder & Director - The Residency Project (2018-present)
Academic Affairs Manager - California Institute of the Arts (2016-2020)
Administrative Director - School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2011-2016)
Registrar - Louis Stern Fine Arts (2009-2010)
Administrative Assistant - Long Beach Museum of Art (2008-2009)
Digital Lab Intern - California Museum of Photography (2007-2008)
Assistant Editor, ChildArt Magazine - International Child Art Foundation (2007)
Publications
Negotiating the In-Between: Strategic Plan for a Mission-Driven Arts For-Profit. School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 2012. (author, credited)
FIRST catalog. School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 2011-2016 editions. (editor, uncredited)
Alfredo Ramos Martinez & Modernismo. Louis Stern Fine Arts. 2009. (assistant registrar, credited)
ChildArt Magazine, Jan–Mar 2008 Volume 11, Issue 1, Number 37. International Child Art Foundation. (assistant editor/contributing writing, credited)
Mosaic Art & Literary Journal. University of California, Riverside. (cover artist, credited)
Awards & Residencies
2023/2024 City of Pasadena Individual Artist Grant
TOTAL LANDSCAPING, Active Cultures & X-TRA, Los Angeles, California (June 2–November 5, 2023)
Ora Lerman Charitable Trust Grant
Soaring Gardens Residency – Laceyville, Pennsylvania (Upcoming: October 12–November 2, 2023)
BONFIRE – “THE GLITCH” Residency (October 3-November 2022)
Stove Works – Chattanooga, Tennessee (September 2-30, 2022)
Gracia – Antigua, Guatemala (January 3–16, 2022)
Franconia Sculpture Park – Shafer, Minnesota (April 7–June 4, 2021)