Ira Upin

Ira Upin

Philadelphia , PA, United States

About Ira Upin

I was born in Chicago, IL USA in 1948, went to college in Illinois and Maryland and settled in Philadelphia, PA in 1973 and stayed. For 35 years I'd go back and forth between working at construction and working in my studio. At age 57 I decided to spend the rest of my time in the studio. The two constants in my work have been the narrative and the intensity of the visual. I want the viewer to be intoxicated and perplexed by how I make my paintings and intrigued by the stories I'm trying to tell. I'm interested in human dynamics whether they be social, political, or emotional. - In the end though it's about randomness and our inability to control that randomness. Things happen - anything can happen and we want somehow to control it, but we can't. Art is a good attempt at trying. - Fashion is ephemeral, so I never concern myself with what is fashionable, which in the end puts me in and out of fashion depending in what decade my work is being considered. I’ve been doing some version of the same thing for 50 years. - At the elemental level of life itself, if you stop and think, everything is essentially something we do to keep ourselves busy between birth and death. The in between is the variable from one person to the next. Are you decent, are you compassionate, do you seek truth and a clear understanding of reality? Those are the questions I ponder to justify my life and what I do with my time. 

Education:

-Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting, 1971, University of Illinois
-Master of Fine Art in Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art, 1973

Events:

Awards

2017 Dave Bown Projects, Award of Excellence
2017 1st Place in Paintng and the Clara Ely Award, 45th International Art Show, Brownsville
Museum of Fine Art, Brownsville,TX
2016 1st Place Award 29th September Competition Exhibition, Alexandria Museum, Alexandria,
LA
2016 Stories To Art, 1st Place $5000
2016 Featured Artist Art Reveal Magazine Vol. 12
2015 Featured Artist, No Barking Art Magazine, Vol. 3
2015 Featured Artist, The World’s Greatest Erotic Art of Today – Vol. 5
2014 Finalist in Painting, Arte Laguna Prize, Venice Italy
2014 50arts Series, Huffington Post
2013 Featured Artist, Direct Art Magazine, Volume 20
2012 Artslant Showcase Juried Award Winner
2011 Artist of the Week, Saatchi Online
1973 Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship $5000
1973 Painting Biennial, VCU, Richmond VA, 1st Prize $800
1972 Henry Walters European Travel Scholarship $1500
1971 Kate Kinley Memorial Fellowship $2500 (Awarded by University of Illinois Trustees)
1971 Wabash Valley Regional, Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute IN, 1st Prize, purchase award


Solo Shows -

2017 James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2013, Artspace, Raleigh, NC

2013, Giles Gallery, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY

2013, The Dairy Center for the Arts, Boulder, CO

2011, Projects Gallery, Philadelphia, PA,

2008, Kelly and Weber Fine Art, Philadelphia PA

1992 & 3, F.A.N. Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1981, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA

1979, Zaks Gallery, Chicago,IL,

Exhibitions:

Group Shows:
2018 Faces, Site: Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY
2017 30th Annual September Competition Exhibition, Alexandria Museum, Alexandria, LA
2017 45th International Art Show, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, Brownsville, TX
2016 29th Annual September Competition Exhibition, Alexandria Museum, Alexandria, LA, Best
in Show
2016 Forces, James, Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2016 Potato Eaters, No Barking aRT, London, UK
2016 Tiny Biennale, Tyler Gallery, Rome Italy
2015 Black Cube Collective Annual Show, Gayfield Creative Spaces, Edinburgh, Scotland
2015 Art of the State, The State Museum, Harrisburg, PA
2014 Art Undressed Event, McCormack Place, Miami, FL
2014 Irreversible, Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, Miami, FL
2014 Square Foot Art Basel Redux, Projects Gallery, Miami FL
2014 Projects Gallery at Red Dot Art Fair, Miami, FL
2014 Experiencing War, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY
2014 Arte Laguna Prize Exhibit, Venice Arsenale, Venice, Italy
2014 Part ll no barking aRt Biennale 2014 “Material World”, Espacio Gallery, London, UK
2014 Part l no barking aRt Biennale 2014 “Material World”, Space 25 Truman Brewery, London, UK
2014 Kinsey Institute, Juried Art Show, Grunwald Gallery, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
2014 Mid-Atlantic New Paintings, UMWG Galleries, Fredericksburg, VA
2013 Rag Dolls, Robots, and Rocketships, Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO
2013 Summer Juried Show II, Sylvia White Gallery, Ventura, CA
2012 No Dead Artists, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2012 Death is the Destination, Welch School Galleries, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
2012 Living With Others, Giles Gallery Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY
2012 Au Naturel International Juried Exhibition, Clatsop Community College Art Center Gallery, Astoria, OR
2011"Hello World", October, Inaugural Opening Milavec Hakimi Gallery, NYC, NY
2011, "TO-DAY IS ANOTHER DAY, MAKE ART. (ART IN THE GREAT RECESSION)" Group Show Pterodactyl Creative Project Space, Philadelphia, PA,
2011, Juried Show, Sylvia White Gallery, Ventura, CA