Sirena LaBurn: For Roslyn
November 18, 2023 - January 6, 2024 Starting November 18, 2023, Foltz Fine Art is proud to present Sirena LaBurn: For Roslyn, featuring new paintings and ceramics by the contemporary Houston artist in her first solo exhibition at the gallery. The exhibition title “For Roslyn” is a nod to Marilyn Monroe's character Rosyln Taber in the film "The Misfit's (1961), directed by John Huston and based on a screenplay/short story by the great American playwright and essayist Arthur Miller. Unlike most classic western films, "The Misfits" centers around a central female character, navigating her way through the American dream. Instead of finding independence and land ripe with possibility, Roslyn is horrified to witness firsthand the commodification and destruction of what remains of the West. LaBurn, too, recognizes this discord throughout her work where the harsh disillusion of present-day reality greatly contrasts reminisces of earlier, romanticized times past. By focusing on imagery caught in a state of constant flux, LaBurn reflects not only today’s dissonance with times past, but also its rapid pace of change. In LaBurn’s work, horses or grackles frequently stand in as witnesses, or even as possible self-portraits, to this new frontier in what remains of the open spaces. Her work oscillates between stillness and motion, inspired by memories of travels through the Southwest, her childhood in southeast Texas, the photography of Eadweard Muybridge, and ancient Greek art. This coming together of memory, fantasy, and art historical references as well as LaBurn’s investigations of identity, in particular her identity as a Texan, leads to visions of Texas that are completely of her own making.
Foltz Fine Art
Sirena LaBurn: Paintings
Sirena LaBurn Summer Sky, 2023 oil on canvas 36 x 36 in Framed 37.50 x 37.50 in $4,200.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Kaleido, 2023 oil and acrylic on canvas 36 x 36 in Framed 37.50 x 37.50 in $4,200.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Clarity, 2023 oil and acrylic on canvas 36 x 36 in Framed 37.50 x 37.50 in $4,200.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Luminescence (Meteor Shower), 2023 oil and acrylic on canvas 36 x 36 in Framed 37.50 x 37.50 in $4,200.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn In Bloom, 2023 oil on linen 16 x 19.75 in Framed 17.25 x 21.25 in $2,800.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Little Red Shoes, 2023 oil on canvas 20 x 20 in $2,500.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Grackle Sunset, 2023 oil on linen 15 x 16 in Framed 16.50 x 17.25 in $2,200.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Gone Solo, 2023 oil on linen 13 x 15 in Framed 14.25 x 16 in $2,000.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Gallop, 2023 oil on canvas 13 x 14.75 in Framed 14.25 x 16 in $2,000.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn All the Pretty Horses, 2023 oil and acrylic on wood panel 12 x 12 in Framed 13 x 13 in $1,600.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Grackle Afternoon, 2022 oil on linen 10 x 8 in Framed 11.50 x 9.50 in $1,100.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Death and the Maiden, 2022 oil on panel 15.75 x 6 in $1,100.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Embrace, 2022 oil on panel 15.75 x 6 in $1,100.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Moon Rise, 2022 oil on panel 10 x 11 in $1,000.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art
Sirena LaBurn: Ceramics
Sirena LaBurn Georgia of the West (Tom Mix style), 2023 stoneware, barrel fired, ferric chloride, cobalt, copper wire 8.75 x 18 x 20 in $2,000.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Orange Blossom, 2023 stoneware, barrel fired, ferric chloride 5.75 x 11 x 14 in $1,600.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Singed, 2023 stoneware, barrel fired, ferric chloride, banana peel, copper wire 5.75 x 11.25 x 13 in $1,400.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Classic Country, 2023 stoneware, barrel fired, ferric chloride 5.50 x 9 x 12 in $1,200.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn For Roslyn, 2023 stoneware and spray paint 11.50 x 15.50 x 3 in $850.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn Helios, 2023 stoneware and spray paint 10 x 13.50 x 3 in $800.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
Sirena LaBurn (b. 1986) Born in Nederland, Texas in 1986, Sirena LaBurn received her MFA in Painting from the New York Studio School (2014), and her BS in Arts Administration from Wagner College, New York (2009). Before beginning her MFA, LaBurn worked as the Collections Catalogue Assistant at the Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas, and was a resident at The Art Studio, Inc., Beaumont, Texas. From 2014-2017 she assisted Graham Nickson in his internationally recognized Drawing Marathons. From 2019-2021, LaBurn taught Drawing and Design courses as a Visiting Instructor and Adjunct Instructor at Lamar University, Beaumont, TX. She currently lives in Houston, Texas. LaBurn has exhibited at Foltz Fine Art, Valley House Gallery (Dallas, TX), Olympia Gallery (New York, NY), Pamela Salisbury Gallery (Hudson, NY), The Dishman Art Museum (Beaumont, TX), and The Art Studio Inc. (Beaumont, TX). EDUCATION 2014 MFA, New York Studio School (New York, NY) 2009 BS Arts Administration, Wagner College (Staten Island, NY) GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2023 2023 2022 2022 2022 2022 2021 2021 2021 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2019 2019 2019 2019 2018 2018 2017 2015 2013 2010 2010 2009
Crossroads, Austin Studio Tours, Big Medium, Austin, TX Once in a Blue Moon, Blue Mountain Gallery, NY, NY Holiday Group Show, Foltz Fine Art, Houston, TX Texas Emerging Volume III, Foltz Fine Art, Houston, TX Said to Be Dreaming, Olympia, New York, NY Landscape & Memory, Pamela Salisbury Gallery, Hudson, NY In Rainbows, Western Gallery (virtual) Mythopaiea, 621 Gallery, Tallahasse, FL Powers at Play, The Art Studio Inc., Beaumont, TX (with Nathan Mullins) On Being Human, Valley House Gallery, Dallas, TX Texas Women, Western Gallery (virtual) Friends of 362 ½ Warren Street, Pamela Salisbury Gallery, Hudson, NY New York Studio School Annual Invitational, NY,NY (juried) New Western Talent, Western Gallery, online (juried) Amor Fati, Wagner College Gallery, Staten Island, NY Lamar University Annual Faculty Exhibition, Dishman Museum, Beaumont, TX New York Studio School Annual Invitational, NY, NY (juried) Winter 2019 Juried Show, Blue Mountain Gallery, NY, NY (Juror: Elisa Jensen) Desert Gods, Vivid Space, San Diego, CA (two-person show) Holiday Show, Vivid Space, San Diego, CA New York Studio School Annual Invitational, NY, NY (juried) 3 Jurors=3 Shows, New York Studio School, NY, NY (juried) Recent Work, Student Gallery, New York Studio School, NY, NY Member’s Show, 1st Pl., The Art Studio Inc., Beaumont, TX (Juror: Charlie Stagg) Neches River Festival Show, Beaumont Art League, Beaumont, TX (juried) Graduation Show, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS For Rosyln, Foltz Fine Art, Houston, TX 2023 Cyclical, Alchemy Gallery, Galveston, TX 2019 Endless, Texas, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Café de Arts, Beaumont, TX 2017 Westward (MFA Thesis Exhibition), New York Studio School, New York, NY 2014 Facing Self, The Art Studio Inc,. Beaumont, TX 2011
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS 2020 Mercedes Matter Award, New York Studio School Alumni Exhibition 2019 Honorable Mention, New York Studio School Alumni Exhibition 2013 Henry Wolf Scholarship, New York Studio School; NY, NY 2013 Horace Goldsmith Scholarship, New York Studio School; NY, NY PUBLICATIONS & PRESS 91.3 KLVU Public Radio, Interview for State of the Art with Joe Elwell. 5 March 2021. Coughlan, Andy. “Myth, Magic and the West,” artstudio.org. 2021. Cate, Michelle. “Facing Self,” Beaumont Enterprise, CAT5. 7 May, 2011. Bruyn, Haley. “Artist Shares Her Take on Texas,” Beaumont Enterprise. 21 October, 2017.
ARTIST STATEMENT I have struggled with identity since childhood. At an early age, I confronted my ethnic identity, later my gender identity and then my identity as a Texan. Often, my experience was being other: brown when everyone else was white; masculine when the accepted ideal was feminine; Texan when everyone else was New Yorker or European. Stereotypes and value judgements were projected onto to me from many fronts. I grappled, sometimes resigned, sometimes subverted, and finally rejected the thoughts of others so often imposed on my being. I eventually found solace in the idea that the one identity I could safely claim, the identity of which I am “enough," is American. I began a fraught journey to understand the histories, symbols, and cultural myths of the United States of America. Fascinated with imagery associated with the American West, especially the imagery that so often is interpreted as defining American values and identity, I began to watch classic Western films and read Western novels, and coupled these colonial cultural myths I discovered to historical readings. Primarily through oil paintings, my studio practice interrogates American myths. I question the creation, adoption, and use of imagery intrinsically linked to the construction of America as it is imagined today. The resulting paintings attempt to reflect my personal experiences, as well as my historical investigations to unearth and represent personal experiences, meanings, and identities that challenge predominant narratives of America.
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
Foltz Fine Art
Sirena LaBurn: For Roslyn Checklist
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Sirena LaBurn Summer Sky, 2023 oil on canvas 36 x 36 in Framed 37.50 x 37.50 in
Sirena LaBurn Kaleido, 2023 oil and acrylic on canvas 36 x 36 in Framed 37.50 x 37.50 in
Sirena LaBurn Clarity, 2023 oil and acrylic on canvas 36 x 36 in Framed 37.50 x 37.50 in
Sirena LaBurn Luminescence (Meteor Shower), 2023 oil and acrylic on canvas 36 x 36 in Framed 37.50 x 37.50 in
Sirena LaBurn In Bloom, 2023 oil on linen 16 x 19.75 in Framed 17.25 x 21.25 in
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
2143 Westheimer Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
$4,200.00
$4,200.00
$4,200.00
$4,200.00
$2,800.00
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Sirena LaBurn Little Red Shoes, 2023 oil on canvas 20 x 20 in
Sirena LaBurn Grackle Sunset, 2023 oil on linen 15 x 16 in Framed 16.50 x 17.25 in
Sirena LaBurn Gone Solo, 2023 oil on linen 13 x 15 in Framed 14.25 x 16 in
Sirena LaBurn Gallop, 2023 oil on canvas 13 x 14.75 in Framed 14.25 x 16 in
Sirena LaBurn All the Pretty Horses, 2023 oil and acrylic on wood panel 12 x 12 in Framed 13 x 13 in
Sirena LaBurn Grackle Afternoon, 2022 oil on linen 10 x 8 in Framed 11.50 x 9.50 in
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
$2,500.00
$2,200.00
$2,000.00
$2,000.00
$1,600.00
$1,100.00
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Sirena LaBurn Death and the Maiden, 2022 oil on panel 15.75 x 6 in
$1,100.00
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Sirena LaBurn Embrace, 2022 oil on panel 15.75 x 6 in
$1,100.00
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Sirena LaBurn Moon Rise, 2022 oil on panel 10 x 11 in
$1,000.00
Sirena LaBurn Georgia of the West (Tom Mix style), 2023 stoneware, barrel fired, ferric chloride, cobalt, copper wire 8.75 x 18 x 20 in
$2,000.00
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
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Sirena LaBurn Orange Blossom, 2023 stoneware, barrel fired, ferric chloride 5.75 x 11 x 14 in
$1,600.00
Sirena LaBurn Singed, 2023 stoneware, barrel fired, ferric chloride, banana peel, copper wire 5.75 x 11.25 x 13 in
$1,400.00
Sirena LaBurn Classic Country, 2023 stoneware, barrel fired, ferric chloride 5.50 x 9 x 12 in
$1,200.00
Sirena LaBurn For Roslyn, 2023 stoneware and spray paint 11.50 x 15.50 x 3 in
Sirena LaBurn Helios, 2023 stoneware and spray paint 10 x 13.50 x 3 in
2143 Westheimer | Houston, TX 77098 | 713.521.7500 | www.foltzgallery.com
$850.00
$800.00
Foltz FINE ART
2143 Westheimer Road Houston, TX 77098 713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com