Jappie King Black

About the artist

Jappie King Black in Her Studio
Jappie King Black's Studio with Dog Assistants

When I meet someone new I always explain my name. Yes, my real name is Jappie. My grandfather's name was Jasper. His nickname was Jap. He had three daughters and my mother was the fourth. He invented the name for her and she gave it to me.

“I was born in Detroit, Michigan, but never lived in the city. My family moved almost every two years during my childhood. We lived in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Argentina, and Mexico. I am a bit rootless, although I’ve lived in Brockport, New York longer than anywhere else in my life.

“My work has changed and evolved over many years. I primarily use fibers and mixed media to make things. When you look at my portfolio you should see recurring threads. The CV below will tell you everything you need to know about my background.”

—JKB

Media

  • "Jappie King Black article in Surface Design, Spring, 2010Living Fibers, Living Forms: The Work of Jappie King Black", an article in the Spring, 2010 issue of Surface Design Journal, Creative Explorations of Fiber and Fabric (7.5MB PDF).

  • Listen to an interview with PBS's Brenda Tremblay (download MP3, 3MB):

    Get the Flash Player to see this player.
 

Résumé (Full Curriculum Vitae, 120KB pdf.)

Selected Experience and Grants

  • 2009 Awarded New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Sculpture
  • 2001 – 2010  Assistant Professor, Fibers/Fine Arts Department, Kean University, Union, New Jersey
  • 2001  Individual Artist Grant, Arts and Cultural Council, Rochester, New York
  • 2000  Adjunct Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York
  • 1999  Community Arts Grant, Arts and Cultural Council, Rochester, New York
  • 1996 – 1998  Assistant Professor of Fibers, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
  • 1995  Empire State Craft Alliance Grant
  • 1994 & 2001  Special Opportunity Stipend, AGR, Rochester, New York
  • 1994  Artist Residency Exchange: Western New York, Buffalo Arts Studio

Education

  • MFA Syracuse University, Fibers, with emphasis in Sculpture
  • BFA Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island; Textile Design Major
  • Graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen, Michigan; Visual Art Major
  • Graduate of Ateneo Fuente, Universidad de Coahuila; Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

Selected Awards

  • Ida Abrams Louis Award (for Sculpture Installation) 60th Annual Finger Lakes Exhibition Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York, 2005
  • Bill Havens Award, The Rochester Contemporary Members Show, Rochester, NY, 2001
  • Award of Merit (for a Body of Work), Made in New York, Fiber & Jewelry Exhibition
  • Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, New York, 1998
  • Inez Barnell Award (for Outstanding Sculpture), 50th Annual Finger Lakes Exhibition
  • Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York, 1991

One-Person Exhibitions

  • A Different Path Gallery, Brockport, New York, 2011 & 2014
  • The Project Room, Phoenix Gallery, New York, New York, 2004
  • Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts, Little Falls, New York, 2001
  • Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, New York, 1999
  • Adams Art Gallery, Dunkirk, New York, 1997
  • Tower Fine Arts Gallery, SUNY College at Brockport, Brockport, New York, 1996
  • Wilson Art Gallery, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, New York, 1995
  • Genesee/Orleans Regional Arts Council, Albion, New York, 1993
  • Pyramid Arts Center, Rochester, New York, 1993
  • ComArt Gallery, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, 1992
  • East End Arts Council Gallery, Riverhead, New York, 1990
  • Arts for Greater Rochester, Exhibition Space, Rochester, New York, 1988
  • Little Gallery, Nazareth College, Rochester, New York, 1986
  • The Gallery, Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen, Michigan, 1980 and 1987
  • Adams Gallery, Rhode Island College, Providence, Rhode Island, 1975
  • Arboretum, East Providence, Rhode Island, 1974

Selected Group Exhibitions

Selected, Recent Group Invitationals

  • Interwoven, Marta Hewett Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, 2018
  • Brockport Artists’ Guild, Annual Members Shows, A Different Path Gallery, Brockport, NY, 2012–2018
  • Three Person Show, St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY, 2017
  • Two Person Show, Loud Cow, Spencerport, NY, 2017
  • Arena Art Group, Members Shows, Gallery R, 2014; Link Gallery, 2014; Dyer Gallery, NTID, 2016; Little Theatre Gallery, 2016; Giesel Gallery, 2017; all in Rochester, NY
  • Weavers’ Guild of Rochester, Members Show, I Square Visions Gallery, Rochester, NY, 2014
  • Restless II, Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY, 2013
  • Oxford Gallery, Annual Group Shows, 2000–2018
  • Rochester Contemporary, Annual Members Shows, 2000–2018

National and International Juried Exhibitions

  • (un)bound, Rochester Contemporary, Rochester, New York, 2005
  • Taboo, Makeready Press, Montclair, New Jersey, 2005
  • Baskets: Now Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, and KY, 2003
  • Elements 2000, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, New York, 2000
  • Grateful Threads, The Delaplaine Visual Arts Center, Frederick, Maryland, 1999
  • Figure in the Landscape, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, and Cazenovia, New York, 1995
  • Materials: Hard & Soft, Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, Texas, 1994
  • Unbound, An Exhibition of Three-Dimensional Fiber, Harmony Hall Regional Arts Center, Fort Washington, Maryland, 1994
  • Fiber at the End of the Century, Corvallis Arts Center, Corvallis, Oregon, 1994
  • Myths: New Form/New Function, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, 1994
  • The Figure: New Form/New Function, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, 1983
  • Fiber Nationals, Access to the Arts, Jamestown and Dunkirk, New York, 1981, 1984, 1987, and 1988
  • Fiber Sculpture National, Nazareth College Art Center, Rochester, New York, 1982
  • Interweave ’79, University of Toledo, Ohio, 1979

National Invitationals

  • A Permeable Edge: Reference / Body / Figure, McLean Project for the Arts, Emerson Gallery
  • Mclean, Virginia and The Delaplaine Visual Arts Center, Frederick, Maryland, 1997
  • Exploring Along the Outer Edges, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, Missouri, 1995
  • Annual Basketry Invitationals, Sybaris Gallery, Royal Oak, Michigan, 1994 and 1996
  • Great American Basket Show, Dawson Gallery, Rochester, New York, 1988
  • Quilts not to sleep with, Wilson Arts Center, Rochester, New York, 1988
  • Contemporary Baskets, and Lidded Containers L&S Gallery, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY, 1981 & 1982
  • The New Basket, vessel for the future, originated at Brainerd Art Gallery, State University at Potsdam 1984, toured the U.S. and Africa: Zimbawe, Botswana, Kenya, Burundi, and Rwanda & Ethiopia through 1987

Regional Juried

  • Finger Lakes Exhibition, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York, 2005
  • Made in New York / Fiber and Jewelry,
  • Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, New York, 1998
  • Twisted and Bent, Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts Gallery, Little Falls, New York, 1997
  • Selected Western New York Artists, Buffalo Arts Studio, Buffalo, New York, 1994
  • Finger Lakes Exhibition, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York, 1991
  • Lending and Sales Gallery, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York, Annual juried shows from 1978 through 1985
  • Ancient Inspirations/ Contemporary Interpretations, toured the United States 1982 – 1984: Roberson Art Center, New York State Museum, Parsons School of Design, New York, New York Craft and Folk Art Museum (L.A., Calif.) and the Mississippi Museum of Art
 

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