Solo/Two-person Exhibitions

2023

Kaleidoscope Eyes: Mara Held and Julia Kunin, McClain Gallery, Houston, Texas

2021

Mara Held: Gates of Cilicia, McClain Gallery, Houston, Texas

2017

Mara Held: Errant Traveler, McClain Gallery, Houston, Texas

2015

Mara Held: Recent Paintings and Works on Paper, McClain Gallery, Houston, Texas

2014

Mara Held and Margrit Lewczuk, Imogen Holloway Gallery, Saugerties, New York

2013

Mara Held, Gary Snyder Gallery, Chelsea, New York

2009

Resonant Frequencies, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

2007

Projects, Spoonbill and Sugartown,  Brooklyn, New York

2004

Voluptuous Moves, Artefact/Galleria Pardo,  Milan, Italy

2001

Plan, The Roger Williams, New York, New York 

1999

Coloratura, Christiane Nienaber, New York, New York

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

2023

Blurring Boundaries: The Women of American Abstract Artists, 1936-Present (traveling exhibition)

(scheduled) Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT

2022

Singing in Unison, Part 2: Curated by Phong Bui/Brooklyn Rail, Scully Tomasko Foundation, New York, NY

Singing in Unison, Part 3: Curated by Phong Bui/Brooklyn Rail, Below Grand, New York, NY

Dallas Art Fair 2022, McClain Gallery, Houston TX

Blurring Boundaries: The Women of American Abstract Artists, 1936-Present (traveling exhibition)

The Richard E. Peeler Art Center, University Gallery, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana

LSA Museum of Art, Baton Rouge, LA

California Center for the Arts, Escondido, CA 

Digital: AAA Prints 2012– 2019 (traveling exhibition), The Galleries at Herron School of Art + Design, Marsh Gallery, Indianapolis, Indiana

2021

Colored Pencil Redux, McKenzie Fine Art, New York, NY

Now is not the Time: CMA’s 2021 Art Auction + Virtual Exhibition, Children’s Museum of the Arts, New York, NY

Blurring Boundaries: The Women of American Abstract Artists, 1936-Present, (traveling exhibition) Baker Museum, Naples, FL and Freedman Gallery at Albright College in Reading, PA

Digital: AAA Prints 2012– 2019, Herron School of Art + Architecture, Indianapolis, IN

2020

Digital: AAA Prints 2012– 2019, Transmitter Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

Digital: AAA Prints 2012– 2019, The Gallery at The Visual and Performing Arts Center, Western CT State University

Blurring Boundaries: The Women of American Abstract Artists, 1936-Present, 

            curated by Rebecca Di Giovanna, South Bend Museum of Art, South Bend, IN

2019

En Masse 2019, Thompson Giroux Gallery, Chatham, New York

Madness in the Vegetables: Hudson Valley Artists 2019, Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, SUNY New Paltz, New York

FiveMyles 20th AnniversaryBenefit Exhibition, Five Myles Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

Continuity to Change: Recent History of American Abstraction, Tower Fine Arts Gallery,
The College at Brockport, SUNY, Brockport, New York                                                                                      

American Abstract Artist :Print Portfolio, (Traveling Exhibition) Essay by Rob Storr, The Gallery at The Visual and Performing Arts Center, Western CT State University

2018

Blurring Boundaries: Continuity to Change Women of AAA from 1937 to 2017, curated by Rebecca Di Giovanna, Ewing Gallery at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

The Greatest Show on Earth, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/Brooklyn, New York

Dallas Art Fair 2018, McClain Gallery, Houston, TX


2017

Sideshow Nation V/ Thru the Rabbit Hole 2, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/Brooklyn, New York

American Abstract Artist: Print Portfolio, (Traveling Exhibition) Essay by Rob Storr

  • Wrather Museum, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky

  • University of Houston/ Clear Lake Art Gallery, Houston, Texas

2016

Chromatic Spaces, curated by Jonathan Lippincott, Fiterman Art Center, BMCC, New York, NY

Light into Night, Omi Internationsal Arts Center, Ghent, NY

Cowgirls #5, Curator/ Rich Timperio/ Brik Gallery, Catskill, N.Y.

West Gallery Summer 2016, McClain Gallery, Houston, TX


Painters Painting on Paper, Schema Projects, Bushwick/Brooklyn, New York

Thru the Rabbit Hole, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/Brooklyn, NY

The Onward of Art/ American Abstract Artists 80th Anniversary, curated by Karen Wilken, 1285 Avenue of the Americas Art Gallery, New York, New York

Visible Histories: 80th Anniversary American Abstract Artists, curated by Max Weintraub, , New York, New York


2015

Endless, Entire/ American Abstract Artists, Five Myles Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

Mara Held, Margrit Lewczuk, Meg Lipke, David Findlay Jr Gallery, New York, New York

Art Wynwood International Contemporary Art Fair, David Findlay Jr Gallery, Miami, Fl

Paperazzi IV, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

Sideshow Nation III: Circle the Wagons, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/Brooklyn, NY

American Abstract Artist: Print Portfolio, (Traveling Exhibition) Essay by Rob Storr

  • Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

  • Marywood University, Scranton, PA

2014

10 Year Anniversary, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

American Abstract Artist: Print Portfolio (Traveling Exhibition) Essay by Rob Storr

  • Martin Art Gallery, Baker Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA

  • University of Mary Washington Galleries, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA

To Leo, A Tribute from the American Abstract Artists, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/Brooklyn

Sensory Impact, Morgan Stanley International Headquarters, Purchase, New York

Sideshow Nation II at the Alamo, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/Brooklyn, New York

Paperazzi 3, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

2013

Miami Project, Garth Greenan Gallery, New York, NY

Dynamic Invention: American Abstract Artists at 75, The Brattleboro Museum, Brattleboro, VT

American Abstract Artist: Print Portfolio (Traveling Exhibition) Essay by Rob Storr

  • Sarah Moody Gallery, U of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

  • Ewing Gallery, UT School of Art, Knoxville, TN

Drafted, Schema Projects, Bushwick/ Brooklyn, New York

Sideshow Nation, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/ Brooklyn, New York

Paperazzi 2, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

2012

Cowgirls of the Hudson River Valley 4, Curator/ Rich Timperio/ Brik Gallery, Catskill, N.Y.

Summer Snacks:Works on Paper, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

The Armory Show 2012, Gary Snyder Gallery, New York, NY

Abstract Artists International 75th Anniversary, paris CONCRET, Paris, France

MIC:CHECK, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/ Brooklyn, New York

Paperazzi, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

2011

Abstraction to the Power of Infinity,  The Icebox Gallery/Crane Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Summer Weekend, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery Brooklyn, New York

American Abstract Artists: 75 Anniversary, OK Harris Gallery, New York, NY

75 Anniversary: American Abstract Artists International, Galerie oqbo, Berlin, Germany

Splendor of Dynamic Structure: Celebrating 75 Years of the American Abstract Artists, Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Paper 2011, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery Brooklyn, New York

It’s All Good, (Apocalypse Now), Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/ Brooklyn, New York

2010 

Art Basel/Miami Beach, Gary Snyder Projects, New York, NY 

Summer Love, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery Brooklyn, New York

Cowgirls of the Hudson River Valley 3, Curator/ Rich Timperio/ Brik Gallery, Catskill, N.Y.

American Abstract Artists International, The Aragonese Castle of Otranto, Italy

It’s a Wonderful Life 10, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/ Brooklyn, New York

Paper Works, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery Brooklyn, New York

2009

It’s a Wonderful Life, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/ Brooklyn, New York

Year Five, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

2008

Fashion Forward, Curator/ Karen Shaw, Islip Art Museum, New York

American Abstract Artists:Tribute to Esphyr Slobodkina, Curator Stephen Maine/Painting Center, NY, NY

A Roller Coaster In The Dark, Curator/ Ben La Rocco/Galeria Janet Kurnatowski Brooklyn, New York

2007

Cowgirls of the Hudson Valley 2, Curated by Rich Timperio/Brik Gallery, Catskill, New York

Continuum: Celebration of 70 years of American Abstract Artists, St. Peters College, NJ

War is Over 2, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/ Brooklyn, New York

2006

War is Over, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/ Brooklyn, New York

2005

Waves of Light, The Factory, Hudson, New York

Along the Way: Celebrating 20 Years of Public Art, UBS Art Gallery, New York, NY  

2004

Merry/Peace 2004, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

SHARE, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

2003

Harlem Art Project, Ray of Light Foundation, Saatchi and Saatchi, New York, NY

Merry/Peace, 2003   Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg/Brooklyn, New York

Going Public, American Institute of Architects, New York, NY

Inaugural Exhibition, Pardo / St Croix Gallery, Milan, Italy

Masterwork Award Exhibition, The Municipal Art Society of New York, New York

Square NY/Piazza Rome, Robert Pardo Gallery and Galleria Le Bateleur, Rome, Italy

Works on Paper, Volume 1, Voelcker & Freunde Galerie, Berlin, Germany

2002

Flat Files 2002, Voelcker & Freunde Galerie, Berlin, Germany

Merry/Peace 2002, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

20 l 02, The Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

Selection 1, The Brooklyn Rail @ Wythe Studio, Brooklyn, New York

2001

Merry/Peace, Sideshow Gallery,  Brooklyn, New York

Annual Report, Issue 14 The Unbearables Assembling Magazine Oct. 2001

Over Times Square 2, Department of Cultural Affairs, New York, New York

Made in Brooklyn, curator/Chris Martin/ S. Cono, Brooklyn, New York

That Which Remains, Lowe Art Gallery, New York, New York

21st Suffragettes, Sideshow Gallery,  Brooklyn, New York

8 New York Artists, Ice House Gallery, Telluride, Colorado    

That Which Remains, Bernadette Salvage, Brooklyn, New York

2000

North and South/ Other Directions, Splendid, Brooklyn, New York

1999

Helter Skelter, Bernadette Salvage, Brooklyn, New York

Gallery Artists, Voelcker & Freunde Galerie, Berlin, Germany

1998  

Strong Modern,   Williamsburg Art & Historical Society,  Brooklyn, NY

1996

Gallery Artists,   Elena Zang Gallery,  Woodstock, New York

1994

Paint,  Rotunda Gallery,  Brooklyn, New York 

Invitational, Tribeca 148 Gallery,  New York, New York

Gallery Artists,  James Cox Gallery, Woodstock, New York

 

Public Commissions

2002

El in 16 Notes 16 Faceted Glass Panels/ MTA Arts for Transit / Jamaica Line

 

Grants, Nominations and Awards

2016

Virgina Center for the Creative Arts Residency Grant, Amherst, VA

2009

Babayan Culture House Residency Grant, Cappadocia, Turkey

2004

I.M. Pei, Cobb, Freed and Partners Project, Percent for Art, New York City, Percent for Art Finalist  

2003

George Sugarman Foundation Grant

The Municipal Art Society of New York

New York City Masterwork Award/ Best New Public Art 2002; “El in 16 Notes” / Hewes Street Station / Jamaica Line /MTA Arts for Transit

2002

Wurlitzer Foundation Residency Grant

 

Public Collections


The New York Public Library, NY, NY

Whitney Museum’s Library Collection, NY, NY

MoMA Library Special Collection, NY, NY

The International Artists’ Museum,  Tel Aviv, Israel

Bayerische Landesbank, New York Branch, New York, NY

The Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein Girozentrale (LB Kiel) New York Branch New York, NY

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York

Art in Embassies, US Department of State, Washinton, DC

Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, NY

Phillips Collection of Art, Washington, DC

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland,OH

The Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee

Permanent Collection, US Embassy, Beijing Embassy Annex, Beijing, China, Art in Embassies, US Department of State

Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee

Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut

Muhlenberg College Art Collection

Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH

 

Bibliography


“Kaleidoscope Eyes”, McClain Gallery, Review by Doug Welsh, Glasstire {Texas Visual Art}, March 13, 2023. https://glasstire.com/2023/03/13/review-mara-held-and-julia-kunin-kaleidoscope-eyes-at-mcclain-gallery/

“Colored Pencil Redux”, McKenzie Fine Art, Barry Schwabsky/Art Forum, November 2021

“Preview: Art Picks” Andrew Dansby/Houston Chronicle, February 5, 2021, https://preview.houstonchronicle.com/art-exhibits/arts-picks-concert-of-arias-i-too-am-15915244

Art Daybook: The Sensation of Cool Woods” Mara Held: Errant Traveler  Review by Molly Glentzer/ Houston Chronicle, August 23, 2017

Mara Held: Recent Paintings and Works on Paper,( March 14-April 18, 2015), by McClain Gallery, March 28, 2015. Catalogue. http://issuu.com/mcclaingallery/docs/held_cover

“Mara Held, Margrit Lewczuk, Meg Lipke, David Findlay Jr Gallery, NY, New York, Artnet News, Audrey Fair,” Must-See Art Guide: New York, May 7, 2015. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/must-see-art-guide-new-york-4-294994           

“Mara Held, Margrit Lewczuk, Meg Lipke, David Findlay Jr Gallery, NY, New York”  Painters’ Table, April 19, 2015, http://painters-table.com/link/james-kalm-rough-cut/mara-held-margrit-lewczuk-meg-lipke?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+painters-table%2Fixun+%28Painters%27+Table+Featured%29&utm_content=FaceBook

Kalm, James “Mara Held, Margrit Lewczuk, Meg Lipke, David Findlay Jr Gallery, NY, New York” James Kalm Rough Cut, 11:35, April 17, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5mHtqiL-lg

“10 Year Anniversary, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, New York” Kalm, James, James Kalm Rough Cut, 11:49, December 20, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt1_X-ff1r8

New York’s Underground Art Museum: MTA Arts & Design, Sandra Bloodworth and William Ayres, Montacelli Press, 2014


”Art Day Trips: Escapes from the Concrete Jungle," Editorial Preview, New York Arts Magazine, NY, NY July 2014

"Sensory Impact: American Abstract Artists," essay by Stephen Maine, Morgan Stanley International, Purchase, NY 2014

"75th Anniversary American Abstract Artist Print Portfolio," essay by Rob Storr, The Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture, The University of Tennessee 2013

“Art Show: Mara Held" Elle Décor Magazine by Vicky Lowry, October 2013 (p.158-160)

“Mara Held" at Gary Snyder Gallery, Joanne Mattera Art Blog: Painting in Chelsea, March 3, 2013

“Mara Held" at Gary Snyder Gallery, Steven Alexander Journal, February 28, 2013

“Mara Held” at Gary Snyder Gallery Review, Ken Johnson/The New York Times, February 22, 2013

“Mara Held” at Gary Snyder Gallery Review, Phong Bui/The Brooklyn Rail, February 2013

“Summer Love” at Janet Kurnatowski, Steven Alexander Journal August 18, 2010

“Mara Held" at Kurnatowski Steven Alexander Journal October 18, 2009

"Resonant Frequencies"  Catalogue essay by Shane McAdams October 2009

“Where Fashion Meets Its Artistic Match” Benjamin Genocchio New York Times January 9, 2009

“A Twofer from the ‘Burg” James Kalm Report,  blip.tv/file/877811  2008

"Open Studios: Who What Where Why" Slektaviciute, Pardo,Comerlati, Morgan & Sansone 2007

"Along the Way" MTA Arts for Transit, Sandra Bloodworth and William Ayres 2006

"J Train Parsons/Archer to Broad Street” stationreporter.net 2004

"Subway Artist  Mara Held" Robinson, Dorothy Metro New York October 21, 2004  

"Crosby Willet and Willet Stained Glass Studios: Three Generations of Glass for the Ages" Waggoner, Shawn. Glass Art Magazine January/February 2003

"Edgy New York Artwork" Levek, Amy. Telluride Watch August 2001

"Review of Coloratura at Nienaber" Everett, Deborah. NY Arts, Vol. 4, #11 1999

"Submerge Yourself in "Paint" for a Truly Colorful Time" Courier Lifestyles 1994