MFA, Maine College of Art & Design, Portland, ME
Interdisciplinary Studio Art
BFA, School of Art + Design, Purchase College, SUNY (Magna Cum Laude)
Concentration: Painting and Drawing
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME
Recipient of Zorach-Bingham Fellowship
Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, West Rockport, ME
12-Week Furniture Intensive
International Honors Program (Bard College)
Two-semester undergraduate international study in environmental studies
2022
Solo Exhibition: Living Material, Eli Marsh Gallery, Amherst College, Amherst MA
Group Exhibition: Becoming Trees, curated by Fritz Horstman, Concord Center for the Visual Arts, Concord MA
Group Exhibition: Forest Composition, curated by Samuel Rowlett, Landmark College Gallery, Putney VT
2021
Group Exhibition: Skowhegan Artists, curated by Juliet Karelson, Maine Jewish Museum, Portland ME
Artist-Led Participatory Project and Workshop: FOREST-BODY-CHAIR, three-week collaborative socially-engaged summer workshop session, co-led with Sara Smith, Mildred’s Lane, Beach Lake PA
2020
Solo Exhibition: New World Reconsidered, curated by Ellie Krakow, Mazmanian Gallery, Framingham State University, Framingham MAGroup Exhibition: AREA CODE Art Fair, Drive-In Video/Digital Art Project, curated by Leonie Bradbuury, Boston MA
Group Exhibition: Lush, Hush, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, online exhibit curated by Donna McNeil, Rockland ME
Group Exhibition/Auction: Center for Art in Wood invitational Bandsaw Box auction and online exhibition
2019
Solo Exhibition: Self-Made, The Mildred Complexity Project Space, Mildred’s Lane, Narrowsburg NY
Group Exhibition: Moving Image Matters: Documenting and Performing Craft in Video, curated by Jennifer-Navva Milliken, Center for Art in Wood, Philadelphia PA
Group Exhibition: Water Access, curated by Fritz Horstman, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven CT
Group Exhibition: Phallacies, A Guide to the Field, curated by Leigh Claire La Berge, Caroline Woolard, Paige Landesberg, A Guide to the Field Project Space, Mountaindale, NY
2018
Solo Exhibition: SELF-MADE, Vox Populi, Philadelphia PA
Group Exhibition: Center for Maine Contemporary Art Biennial, Rockland ME
Group Exhibition: "Encampment," A Guide to the Field, A Mildred's Lane Project, curated by J. Morgan Puett and Abby Lutz, Mountaindale NY
Artist-Led Participatory Project: The Stars are Some Compensation: A Nocturne in the Form of a Walk, with Sara Smith, gallery talk and public event, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley MA
2017
Group Exhibition: Personals, Skowhegan New York Space, NYC
2016
Solo Exhibition: SELF-MADE, Oresman Gallery, Smith College, Northampton MA
Artist-Led Participatory Project: The Coracles of Pignut Pond, invited by J. Morgan Puett, Mildred’s Lane, Beach Lake PA
Group Exhibition: Hanglines and Margins: A Visiting Faculty Exhibition, Blanchard Gallery, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley MA
Two person Exhibition: Reimagining Audubon, curated by Elizabeth Stone, Von Auersperg Gallery, Deerfield Academy, Deerfield MA
Collaborative Project: The Candidate is Absent (with Bernadine Mellis, E.E. Miller, Sara Smith) A.P.E. Gallery, Northampton MA
2015
Solo Exhibition: A River Twice, Marlboro College Art Gallery, Marlboro VT
Group Exhibition: MCC Awardees in Crafts/Sculpture/Installation/New Genres New Art Center, Newton MA
Artist-Led Participatory Project: CACOPHONY, with Sara Smith, Mildred’s Lane and Complex(ity) Project Space, Narrowsburg NY
Solo Exhibition: Audubon’s Birds, Mariboe Gallery, Peddie School, Hightstown NJ
2014
Group Exhibition: Walden, Revisited, curated by Dina Deitsch, DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln MA
Two person Exhibition: Play/Labor/Play, curated by Joe Saphire and Eben Kling, Flying Object, Hadley MA
Group Exhibition: No Country for Old Men, curated by Samuel Rowlett, Landmark College Gallery, Putney VT
Group Exhibition: SELF/Selfie, curated by Donna McNeil, Engine, Biddeford ME
Group Exhibition: Amherst College Fringe Festival, Amherst College, Amherst MA
2013
Solo Exhibition: 1x1, A.P.E. Gallery, Northampton MA
Group Exhibition: Finding Place, curated by David Gloman, Eli Marsh Gallery, Amherst College, Amherst MA
Group Exhibition: Be Here Now: Northampton Biennial, Hosmer Gallery, Northampton MA
2012
Group Exhibition: Comedy, Seriously, curated by Sarah Keller, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville ME
Group Exhibition: To Extremes: Public Art in a Changing World, curated by Eli Kintisch, MIT, Cambridge MA
2011
Artist-Led Participatory Project: Sea Worthy Festival, curated by Jean Barberis. Flux Factory, NYC
Group Exhibition: Curiouser: New Encounters with the Victorian Natural History Collection, curated by Erik Carlson and Erica Carpenter, Providence Museum of Natural History, Providence RI
2010
Solo Exhibition: Currents6, curated by Elizabeth Finch, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, ME
Two Person Exhibition: The Echo as an Original Sound, with Christopher Carroll FiveSevenDelle Project Space, Boston, MA
Group Exhibition: Beyond Purview, curated by Ashley Billingsley, New Art Center, Newton MA
Screening: Float: Buoyant Things, a Sinking Feeling, curated by Caitlin Berrigan. PROGRAM Initiative for Art and Architecture Collaborations, Berlin, Germany.
2009
Artist-Led Participatory Project: Emma’s Walk, An Anti-Versary Event for Labor Day 2009, Public event, NYC
Group Exhibition: Content/Community, curated by Liz. Geller. FiveSevenDelle Project Space, Boston MA
Group Exhibition: NYC Historic Interpretation: Artists Interpret the Historic Collection, Peabody Historical Society, Peabody MA
Group Exhibition: Domestica, curated by Patrick Holbrook. Eel Space, Chicago IL
2008
Group Exhibition: The New Constructionists, curated by Elizabeth Atterbury. SPACE Gallery, Portland, ME
Group Exhibition: Maine College of Art MFA Thesis Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA, Portland ME
RESIDENCIES, GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS, COLLECTIONS
Teaching Artist Cohort Grant, Center for Craft, 2023
Artist-in-Residence, Arts Afield, MacLeish Field Station, Smith College, 2018-present
Vermont Studio Center, Windgate Fellowship, 2023
Massachusetts Cultural Council Cultural Sector Recovery Grant, 2023
Swimming Hole Foundation Collaborative Residency, 2022
Maker-Creator Fellowship Award, Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library, Wilmington DE, 2021
Anonymous Was a Woman Award nomination, 2020
Faculty Research Support Grant Award, Mount Holyoke College, 2021
Hewnoaks Artist Colony, Artist-in-Residence, Lovell ME, 2018Mount Holyoke College Faculty Research Grant Award, 2018, 2019
Sculpture Space, Artist-in-Residence, Utica NY 2017
Mildred's Lane, Contributing Guest Artist, 2016, 2017
Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship Finalist: Sculpture and Installation Category, 2015
Northampton Arts Council Grant, Northampton MA 2013
Viewing Program Artist Registry, The Drawing Center, NYC, 2012
Permanent Collection, Colby Museum of Art, 2011
Berkshire Taconic Foundation, Artist’s Resource Trust Grant, 2010
Puffin Foundation Ltd. Artist Grant, 2010
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Zorach/Bingham Fellowship, Skowhegan ME, 2008
Selected Participant, Puppet Lab, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY 2006
Studio Fellowship, Center For Furniture Craftsmanship, Rockport, ME 2005
WoodCentral Craftsmanship Award: 1st Place, 2005
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Reviews, Articles, Catalogues)
“Against the Grain: The Emergence of Queer Woodworkers,” by John Duane Kingsley, Decorative Arts Trust Bulletin, June 2022
"Good Housekeeping: Ian Bourland on Mildred's Lane," Ian Bourland, ARTFORUM, April 2022
Becoming Trees, catalogue publication, Concord Center for the Visual Arts, essay by Fritz Horstman, 2022
"Self-Made, Gina Siepel's Queer Coming of Age Story at Vox Populi," Levi Bentley, Artblog, Nov. 23, 2018
"Gina Siepel's Listening Trips," ART21 Magazine, Jacquelyn Gleisner, Feb. 2016“Reassembling Time: The Alternative Pedagogy of Mildred’s Lane,” Owen Duffy, art&education, Fall 2016
“Reimagining Audubon: Local Artists Use Famous Naturalist’s Art as Starting Point for Their Own,” Steve Pfarrer, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Dec. 7, 2016
“Audubon's Birds,” Inquiry, Public Radio interview, Mark Lynch, WICN, 2015
“DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum: Walden Revisited,” Inquiry, Public Radio interview, Mark Lynch, WICN, 2015
“Open Studio with Jared Bowen, Walden Revisited,” WGBH public television profile, January 2015
“Artists Show Poetic, Playful Takes on Thoreau at deCordova,” Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe, December 4, 2014
“Thoreau's Experiment In Simplicity And Solitude Inspires DeCordova Artists,” (radio profile) Andrea Shea, WBUR, 2014
WALDEN, revisited, catalogue publication, deCordova Sculpture Park + Museum, essay by Dina Deitsch, 2014
“1 x 1,” Samuel Rowlett, The Uncanny Pioneer Valley, Magazine 1, Parsons Hall Project Space, 2013
“Art People: Installation Artist Gina Siepel” Suzanne Wilson, Daily Hampshire Gazette,July 18, 2013
“Along the Line” James Heflin, Valley Advocate, July 11, 2013
“Gina Siepel: Currents6” Carl Little, Art New England, Jan/Feb 2011
Currents6: Gina Siepel, catalog publication Colby Museum of Art, 2011
“New Art Center Exhibit Challenges Viewers’ Perceptions,” Chris Bergeron, MetroWest Daily News, Oct. 3, 2010
“Maine Artist Explores Kennebec Region, nostalgia,” Esther King, Colby Echo, Nov. 3, 2010
“Emma Goldman Labor Day Spectacular” (radio profile), Acousmatic Theater Hour, WFMU, hosted by Karinne Keithley and Jason Grote, 2009
“Native Funk and Flash (Part Two),” Allison Smith, Journal of American Craft, 2009
ARTIST LECTURES and PANEL DISCUSSIONS
“Art, Craft, and Identity” MFA Colloquium panelist, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, 2023
“To Understand a Tree” four-part public event series curation, Arts Afield, Smith College, 2023
“To Understand a Tree,” interdisciplinary art/science panel discussion, Hilltown Land Trust, 2023
“Living Material,” Amherst College, 2022
"An Ecology of Mutualism: Reflections on Art and Teaching," Massachusetts College of Art and Design, 2022
“Real-o-metric Reflections,” Institute of Design at New England College, Visual Arts MFA Program, 2022
"To Understand a Tree," University of Cincinnati, 2021
"Queering Woodcraft: An LGBTQIA+ Roundtable, Part 1," Center for Art in Wood, 2021
“To Understand a Tree: A Work in Process,” The Center for Art in Wood online talk series, 2020, Smith College MacLeish Field Station Visiting Artist Talk, 2020
“To Understand a Tree and Other Recent Projects,” “Local Ecologies” series, UMASS Dartmouth, 2019“Self-Made,” Mildred’s Lane, 2019
“Cycle of Self-Determination,” San Francisco Art Institute public lecture, 2019
"On Research and Process," San Francisco Art Institute MFA seminar session, 2019
Gallery Conversation with Jennifer-Navva Milliken, Vox Populi Gallery, 2018
“Work at Play,” with Michelle Grabner and Jacob Rhoads, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley MA 2017
“The Poetics of Failure,” New Hampshire Institute of Art MFA Winter Intensive, 2017
PLATFORM series, Northampton MA, 2017
Complex(ity) Project Space, Mildred's Lane, Beach Lake PA, 2016
New Hampshire Institute of Art, Manchester NH, 2015
Experience Economies Landscape Experience, Mildred's Lane, Beach Lake PA, 2015
DeCordova Sculpture Park + Museum, Lincoln MA 2014
Landmark College Art Gallery, Putney VT, 2014
Smith College, Northampton MA 2013
Art Salon, Greenfield MA 2013
Colby Museum of Art, Colby College, Waterville ME, 2010
A River Twice, Old Canada Road Scenic Byway Heritage Nights Presentation, The Forks, ME, 2010
SPACE Gallery, Portland ME, 2008
SELECTED TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley MA
Full-Time Lecturer in Studio Art, Department of Art Studio, Fall 2017-Spring 2022
Visiting Artist in Sculpture, Department of Art Studio, Fall 2016
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Art Studio, Fall 2015-Spring 2016
Amherst College/Hampshire College, Amherst MA
Visiting Instructor, Department of Art and the History of Art (Amherst College) and Department of Studio/Visual Arts (Hampshire College), Advanced Projects in Studio Art, Fall 2022
Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston MA, 2009 - present
Visiting Associate Professor, MFA Program, 2023
Teacher, Summer Studios Pre-College Intensive: 2D/3D Fundamentals, 2009-12
Teacher, High School Youth Program: Life Drawing and Portfolio Development, 2010New Hampshire Institute of Art MFA, Manchester, NH
Visiting Artist, MFA Guest Artist Seminar, Summer and Winter Residencies, 2015, 2017MFA Low Residency Studio Mentor, Fall 2015
Amherst College, Amherst MA
Instructor: Sculptural Techniques for the Theater, Interterm 2013
taught workshop in casting and moldmaking techniques for scenic and properties fabrication
Maine College of Art, Portland ME, 2006-present
Adjunct Professor: Tool Technology 2006-2007
MFA Non-Resident Studio Advisor 2012-13
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Amherst College, Department of Theater and Dance, Amherst MA, 2010-2015
Assistant Technical Director and Master Carpenter
Maine College of Art, Portland ME, 2006-8
Studio Technician, Department of Woodworking and Furniture Design
Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY, 2001-6
Technical Director, Department of Theater
The Juilliard School of Music Dance and Drama, NYC, 1999-2001
Production Carpenter
Self-Employed/Freelance Designer and Fabricator 1999-present
CONTINUING EDUCATION
The Chairmaker’s Toolbox, 2021
Jennie Alexander Greenwood Chair Scholarship workshop for BIPOC, LGBTQ, and Women-identified woodworkers, taught by Travis Curtis and Aspen Golann
The Green Woodshop/Chris Nassise, Easton MA, 2019
Greenwood chair construction workshop
Summer Institute for Climate Change Education, 2022
Interdisciplinary conference sponsored by NOAA, Mass Audubon, and Climate Generation, scholarship participant
Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, West Rockport, ME
12-Week Furniture Intensive, 2004
Workshop with Master Woodturner Beth Ireland, 2018
New York Studio School, NYC, 2001-2006
Continuing study in drawing with Graham Nickson, Ron Milewicz
Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC: 2000, 2001
Woodworking and furniture design intensive workshops
Art Students’ League of New York, NYC
1996-1997 Continuing study in figurative drawing