ARTIST BIO
Paula Saneaux paints small worlds that articulate the stream of personal stories by emphasizing aesthetics and constructing a narrative. Her images center on women and girls in ordinary interiors, portrayed in achromatic grayscale shades and glazes. With influences as diverse as Rembrandt, Matisse, and Balthus, she synthesizes new variations from both explicit and implicit discourse. Her images are on the one hand touchingly beautiful, on the other hand painfully attractive. She tries to leave the viewer orphaned with a mix of conflicting feelings and thoughts.
Her artwork has been exhibited in the Dominican Republic, Washington D.C., New York and Los Angeles, including various major Dominican venues, such as the Museum of Modern Art, Centro León Museum, the National Gallery of Art, Cándido Bidó Museum, among others. Her work is held in several public and private collections including important institutions of the Dominican Republic such as the Central Bank, Cándido Bidó Museum, and Funglode of former Dominican President Dr. Leonel Fernández. Her private collections are held in Brussels, Madrid, Mexico City, Miami, New York, Rome, Santo Domingo, Turin and Washington D.C.
In recognition of excellence, Saneaux has received numerous awards including The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant of Canada, the Bluhdorn Scholarship for Parsons School of Design of New York, the Pedro Henriquez Ureña Award by the former Dominican President Hipolito Mejia, among others. On January 2016, she received the United States Green Card for “Artists of Extraordinary Ability” which is granted to a small percentage of people with extraordinary abilities, as its title says, in the field of science, arts, education, business or sports.
She graduated with a BFA in Fine Arts from Parsons School of Design of New York (with Honors); an AA in Fine Arts and Illustration from Altos de Chavon School of Design (summa cum laude and valedictorian); and a BA in Advertising from APEC University (summa cum laude) in the Dominican Republic.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Paula Saneaux lives and works in the Washington D.C. Metro Area.
Art CV
Selected Exhibitions
2021 Fragile, TBA
2020 Annual Community Art Show, Washington County Arts Council, Hagerstown, Maryland, USA
2019 Painting the Figure Now II, Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, USA
2019 Painting the Figure Now II, Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Wisconsin, USA
2018 Corpus and Auto-Objectification, IDB Staff Association Art Gallery, Washington DC, United States
2015 Group show, The Jenny Polanco Project, Altos de Chavon, Dominican Republic
2015 LA, Casa Quien Gallery, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2012 Arte Club, National Gallery of Fine Arts of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (catalogue)
2011 Grand Opening, Lucy Garcia Contemporary Art at Libélula, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2011 XXVI Biennial of the Museum of Modern Art (MAM), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2010 Women Artists at the Central Bank, Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (catalogue)
2009 Ellas (They), Solo Show, Aroma, Los Angeles, California
2008 XXII Biennial Eduardo León Jimenes, Centro León, Santiago, Dominican Republic (catalogue)
2008 Solo Exhibition, Ellas, Funglode Gallery (former Dominican President Dr. Leonel Fernández’s Institution), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (catalogue)
2007 II Biennial Paleta de Níquel, Cándido Bidó Museum, Bonao, Dominican Republic (catalogue)
2007 MINE, Gallery MC, New York, United States (catalogue)
2007 CAA & NYCAMS BFA Juror Exhibition, NYCAMS Gallery, New York, NY, United States
2006 XXI Biennial Eduardo León Jimenes, Centro León, Santiago, Dominican Republic (catalogue)
2006 Madness?, Parsons Gallery, New York, NY, United States (catalogue)
2005 Solo Exhibition, Las Pracas, Funglode Gallery (former Dominican President Dr. Leonel Fernández’s Institution), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (catalogue)
2005 Thesis Exhibition, Altos de Chavon Gallery, La Romana, Dominican Republic
Awards & Grants
2020 Maryland State Arts Council Grant
2020 Artist Relief Grant
2020 National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) Actos de Confianza
2018 Artist Fellowship
2018 Scholarship for Vicent Desiderio's Master Class at The New York Academy of Art
2016 USA EB1-1 Green Card for “Artists of Extraordinary Ability,” USCIS, United States
2010 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, Canada
2008 Recognition II Biennial Cándido Bidó Museum, Bonao, Dominican Republic
2007 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, Canada
2006-07 CONES Grant (National Institution of Higher Studies) by the former Dominican President Dr. Leonel Fernández, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2005-07 Parsons The New School of Design Full Tuition Scholarship, New York, USA
2004 Parsons The New School of Design Summer Scholarship, New York, USA
2004 Bludhorn Award, La Romana, Dominican Republic
2002 Salomé Ureña de Henríquez Award (by former Dominican President Hipólito Mejía to outstanding university students of the country), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2001 Salomé Ureña de Henríquez Award (by the former Dominican President Hipólito Mejía to outstanding university students of the country), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
1999-03 APEC University Scholarship, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Selected Collections
Altos de Chavon School of Design, La Romana, Dominican Republic
Cândido Bido Museum, Bonao, Dominican Republic
Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Funglode of former Dominican President Dr. Leonel Fernández, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Other collections: Brussels, Madrid, Mexico, Miami, New York, Rome, Santo Domingo, Turin, and Washington D.C.
Selected Bibliography
2018 Ezequiel Taveras, “Corpus & Auto-Objectification,” IDB Staff Association Art Gallery, Catalogue
2018 Didi Menendez, "The New Nude,", Poets Artists and Zhou B Haus der Kunst, August
2018 Laura Collinson, “Art/Inspiration,” Creative Boom Magazine, January 5
2018 Adrian Alexander, “Artist Spotlight,” Professional Artist Magazine, January
2017 Llilian Llanes, José Noceda and Nelson Herrera Ysla, Visual Artists of the Caribbean
2016 “Dominican Artist recognized by the United States”, Metro Newspaper, Apr. 5th
2016 “Paula Saneaux,” Oh Magazine, March. 10
2015 Joaquín Badajoz, “LA,” The Roads, March 12
2014 Diana Suriel, “Exploring Art,” A la Moda Magazine, May 6. 5
2012 Rocío Figueroa, “ ‘I’m Bureísta’ Paula Saneaux,” Bureo Magazine, December. 66
2012 Arte Club, National Gallery of Fine Arts of the Dominican Republic
2012 Lucy García, “Art as an Investment,” SDQ Magazine, September. 10
2011 26 Biennial de Artes Visuales Catalogue, Museo de Arte Moderno
2010 Best of Artists & Artisans Book, Kennedy Publishing
2010 Women Artists at the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic Catalogue
2008 XXII Concurso de Arte Eduardo León Jimenes Catalogue, Centro León
2008 Rosaura Ramos, “Ellas, Paula Saneaux,” Artes Magazine, October. 13
2007 Jonathan Goodman, “Art and Pleasure,” Ellas Catalogue
2007 Marianne De Tolentino, “Painting prevails in Paleta de Niquel Biennial,” Hoy, November 3. 1
2007 II Biennial Paleta de Niquel Catalogue, Cándido Bidó Museum
2007 MINE Catalogue, Parsons The New School of Design
2006 Madness?, Parsons The New School of Design
2006 XXI Concurso de Arte Eduardo León Jimenes Catalogue, Centro León
2005 Las Pracas Catalogue, Funglode
2005 Beatriz González, “I look for beauty in the atypical,” Listin Diario Newspaper, September 29. 8
Selected Teaching and Related Experience
2018 Drawing with Live Model Workshop, IBD Staff Association Art Gallery, Washington DC
2013 Contest “Rescue your Afro Culture”, OEI (Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos), Santo Domingo / Spain
2013 Drawing & Composition Course, Casa de Chavon School of Design, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2012 Drawing & Composition Course, Casa de Chavon School of Design, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2011 Lecture/Presentation, Altos de Chavon School of Design, La Romana, Dominican Republic
Education
2007 B.F.A. with Honors in Fine Arts, Parsons The New School Of Design, New York, NY, United States
2005 A.A. summa cum laude and valedictorian in Fine Arts & Illustration, Altos De Chavón School of Design, La Romana, Dominican Republic
2004 Drawing and Painting, Parsons The New School Of Design, New York, United States
2003 B.A. summa cum laude in Advertising, APEC University, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic