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Jasmin Sian

Jasmin Sian - Artists - Garth Greenan Gallery

Credit: Photo by Mike Vitelli, New York. Courtesy of Anthony Meier, Mill Valley.

Jasmin Sian is a New York–based artist renowned for her delicate, labor-intensive works on paper. Sian begins by gathering discarded paper from New York City streets and subsequently transforms this found material—gum or lollipop wrappers, deli bags and donut bags—into exquisitely intricate cut-paper constructions. Using specialized Japanese blades, she makes careful incisions in the paper, and then, with a single-hair brush, creates miniature renderings of plants, birds, and animals in gouache, graphite, and ink. Recalling doilies or fragments of lace, the finished works memorialize specific encounters or moments in time, such as a dog playing in a field or chipmunks foraging on a branch. Sian imbues these quotidian scenes with wonderment and transcendence—a sense of awe at the everyday. 

Born in the Philippines, Sian moved to Texas at age 13, studying first at the University of Houston before receiving MFA in 1998 from Parsons School of Design in New York. Since the late 1990s, Sian has worked from her small home studio near Times Square. Urban wildlife, plants in city parks, and her pet bird Matsu are constant subjects of inspiration and depiction. Though her process is exacting, requiring time and attention, Sian’s works overtly reveal her process, made manifest in tiny irregularities and imperfections. This residue of the artist’s hand—a record of her labor—brings her work palpably, powerfully to life. Ultimately, Sian’s work makes a case for decoration, for ornament. A quiet refutation of Western minimalism, her gossamer arabesques and floriated lines reflect an ethos, derived from her Catholic upbringing in the Philippines, that the more you embellish something, the more you have honored that thing. 

Sian is the recipient of the 1998 Joan Mitchell MFA Grant; the 1997 Larrogue Artist Colony; and the 1989 Alliance Francaise Scholarship. Selected public collections include The Art Institute of Chicago and Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Sian has had solo exhibitions at Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco, and Cameron and Weiland, New York. Group exhibitions include Whitney Biennial 2026, Whitney Museum of American Art, 2026; Surface/Depth: The Decorative After Miriam Schapiro, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, 2018; Chick Lit: Revised Summer Reading, Tracy Williams Ltd, New York, 2013; East Ex East, Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy, 2011; Alimatuan: The Emerging Artist as American Filipino, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, 2011; Moment by Moment: Meditations of the Hand, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, North Dakota, 2011; artintime, Sumi, New York, 2011; The Joan Mitchell Foundation 1997–1999 MFA Grant Recipient Group Exhibition, Cue Art Foundation, New York, 2005; Jasmin, E31 Gallery, Athens, Greece, 2005; Jasmin Sian and Matthew Sontheimer, Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco, 2004; Needle Art: A Postmodern Sewing Circle, Exhibits USA, Kansas City, Missouri, 2003; Gardens of Pleasure, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, 2000;  (In)tangible, Margaret Thatcher Gallery, New York, 2000; inter-views 1999, Kappatos Gallery, Athens, Greece, 1999; needle art, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, California, 1999; and Warmer Still, Videoland, New York, 1999.

Jasmin Sian is co-represented by Anthony Meier, Mill Valley, California.

Jasmin Sian
 

1969
Born in the Philippines

Lives and works in New York, New York

EDUCATION

1998
MFA, Painting, Parsons School of Design, New York, New York

1991
B.A., University of Houston, Houston, Texas


SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023
Jasmin Sian: a forrest for Fennel, ADAA: The Art Show 2023, Park Avenue Armory, New York, New York, November 2–5

2016
Jasmin Sian: if i had a little zoo..., ADAA: The Art Show 2016, Park Avenue Armory, New York, New York, March 2–6

2010
Jasmin Sian: and the little rhinoceros was happy, Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco, California, February 19–March 26

1999
Cameron and Weiland, New York, New York


SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026
Whitney Biennial 2026, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, March 8–August 23

2021
Selections from the Permanent Collection, Fogg Museum, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts

2018
Surface/Depth: The Decorative After Miriam Schapiro, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York, March 22–September 9

2013
Chick Lit: Revised Summer Reading, Tracy Williams Ltd., New York, New York, June 27–August 9

2011
East Ex East, Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy, June 9–July 30

2006–2007
Moment by Moment: Meditations of the Hand, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, North Dakota, December 10, 2006–February 4, 2007

2006
Alimatuan: The Emerging Artist as American Filipino, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, May 26–August 6
artintime, Sumi, New York, New York

2005
The Joan Mitchell Foundation 1997-1999 MFA Grant Recipient Group Exhibition, Cue Art Foundation, New York, New York
Jasmin, E31 Gallery, Athens, Greece

2004
Jasmin Sian and Matthew Sontheimer, Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco, California, January 16–February 27

2003–2006
Needle Art: A Postmodern Sewing Circle, Exhibits USA, Kansas City, Missouri, 2003; Ellen Noel Art Museum, Odessa, Texas, 2003; J.Wayne Stark University Center Galleries, College Station, Texas, 2003; Museum of Craft and Folk Art, San Francisco, California, 2003; McColl Center for Visual Art, Charlotte, North Carolina, 2004; Blanden Memorial Art Museum, Fort Dodge, Iowa, 2004; Brevard Museum of Art and Science, Melbourne, Florida, 2004; Fuller Museum of Art, Brockton, Massachusetts, 2004; Milton Hershey School Art Museum, Hershey, Pennsylvania, April 6–May 23, 2004; Louisiana State University Art Gallery, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 2005; Gallery 210, St. Louis, Missouri, 2005; Stedman Gallery, Rutgers-Camden Stedman Gallery, July 6–August 13, 2005; Texarkana Regional Center For Visual Art, Texarkana, Texas, December 2005–January 7, 2006; De Pre Art Center, Hope College, Holland, Michigan, February 17–March 12, 2006; DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, Illinois, April 6–May 25, 2006; Webber Center, Central Florida Community College, July 2006​

2000
Gardens of Pleasure, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, June 11–September 17, 2000
(In)tangible, Margaret Thatcher Gallery, New York, New York

1999
inter-views 1999, Kappatos Gallery, Athens, Greece
needle art, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, California, April–June 13
Warmer Still, Videoland, New York, New York

1998
Robert Beck/Jasmin Sian, Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco, California, September 7–October 5
The Texas Show, ABC No Rio, New York, New York
Imaginary Friend, Rupert Goldsworthy, New York, New York
MFA Exhibition 1998, Brenda Taylor Gallery, New York, New York

1997
Generations, AIR Gallery, New York, New York, October 21–November 15
Night of 1,000 Drawings, Artist Space, New York, New York, December 9, 1997
Anne Chu, Rachel Harrison, Donald Moffet, Jasmin Sian, Mark Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles, California, October 18–November 15
Drawings and Paintings, Wooster Gardens, New York, New York, September 6–October 11
New York Area MFA Exhibition, Hunter College Gallery, New York, February 12–March 22

1993
Imminent Domain, Wierzbowski Gallery, Houston, Texas, Summer–August 28
Wall to Wall, Commerce Street Gallery, Houston, Texas
Anti-Anti Show, Commerce Street Gallery, Houston, Texas

1991
Desperately Seeking Perfection: Women and Self Image, Firehouse Gallery, Houston, Texas, April 1991

 

 

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts
 

PERIODICALS 

Alessi, Andrea. “Artists’ Desks.” ArtSlant, March 3, 2016.

Almino, Elisa Wouk. “Familiar Names but Unexpected Finds at the ADAA Art Show.” Hyperallergic, March 3, 2016.

Cascone, Sarah. “Single Artist Presentations Shine at the ADAA Art Show.” ArtNet, March 2, 2016.

———. “We Tagged Along on Artist Jasmin Sian’s 15 Mile-Long Daily Bike Commute Through New York’s Urban Wilderness.” Artnet News, November 1, 2023.

Cotter, Holland. “Art in Review.” The New York Times, September 19, 1997.

Freeling, Isa and Lizanne Merrill. “’The Art Show’ in repose.” The Huffington Post, March 4, 2016.

Giradeau, Merrill. “Miriam Schapiro’s Femmages at Museum of Arts and Design’s Surface/Depth.” NYC’s Original City Guide, March 2, 2018.

“Jasmin Sian: And the little rhinoceros was happy.” Happenstand, February 19, 2010.

Lesser, Casey. “A More Diverse ADAA Art Show Suggests a Sea Change at the Revered Fair.” Artsy, March 2, 2016.

Porterfield, Carlie. “Five superlative presentations to seek out at The ADAA Art Show.” The Art Newspaper, November 2, 2023.

Procter, Alice. “The ADAA Art Show Is the Sophisticated Aunt of Art Fairs.” Hyperallergic, November 2, 2023.

Schwendener, Martha. “The Art Show Highlights Masters — and Artists Under the Radar.” The New York Times, November 2, 2023.

Sheets, Hilarie M. “Jasmin Sian.” Elle Décor, September 2016.

Small, Zachary. “Whitney Biennial Names 56 Artists to Unwind These ‘Weird Times’.” The New York Times, December 15, 2025.

“The Art Newspaper’s picks of what to see at the ADAA’s Art Show,” The Art Newspaper, March 2, 2016.

Sutton, Benjamin. “56 participating artists, duos and collectives revealed for 2026 Whitney Biennial.” The Art Newspaper, December 15, 2025.

Walsh, Brienne. “Top 5 Booths at the 2016 ADAA Art Show.” Ocula, March 11, 2016.

Whiddington, Richard. “The 2026 Whitney Biennial Reveals Its 56 Participating Artists and Collectives.” Artnet, December 15, 2025.

“Whitney Biennial Announces Artists for 2026 Edition.” Artforum, December 15, 2025.