Anna Wakitsch creates delicate, jewel-like moments on an intimate scale. Inspired by the 17th century painter Vermeer, she weaves together themes of the figure, jewels, light and perception. In Vermeer’s paintings, the glass lens and its optical artifacts act as an allegory of perception, to allow us to suddenly experience the phenomenon of seeing from outside ourselves, like a fish becoming aware of water. In her own work, Anna Wakitsch plays with the sparkling artifacts of her own imperfect vision. Gems, especially pearls, become another metaphor for perception and self-awareness. The structure of the gem acts as a lens, a medium that focuses and refracts light, and an adornment through which we transform perception of the self. The lens reminds us that perception is only possible through an interfering medium, which makes the world visible yet also distorts and transfigures it.
Education & Experiences
2015-17 MFA Painting candidate at the New York Academy of Art New York, NY
2015 Instructor, painting and drawing at the Vitruvian Fine Art Studio Chicago, IL
2014 Volunteer Art Instructor at the Sage Cancer Center McHenry, IL2007-2011 Assistant Instructor in Painting and Drawing at The Ryder tudio Santa Fe, NM
2006-2007 Teaching Assistant, painting and drawing at the Andreeva Portrait Academy Santa Fe, NM 2006 Andreeva Portrait Gallery Santa Fe, NM Gallery Attendant2004-2013 Study in painting and drawing with artist Anthony Ryder
2002-2005 Old Court House Arts Center Woodstock, IL Gallery Attendant
1997-2001 B.A., Art Theory and Practice, Painting Concentration at the Northwestern University Evanston, IL
Selected Exhibitions & Galleries
2015-16 New York Academy of Art, New York, NY
2015 University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne, IN2011-2015 Haynes Galleries, Thomaston, ME and Nashville, TN
2010 Kakawa, Santa Fe, NM
2009 Blue Heron Artworks, Winona Lake, IN
2009 Canyon Road Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
2008 The Framing Gallery, Hawthorne, NY
2006-2007 Andreeva Portrait Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2002-2005 Old Court House Arts Center, Woodstock, IL
2004 Dole Mansion, Crystal Lake, IL
2003 Spring Street Gallery, Galena, IL
2002 Firehouse Arts Gallery, Crystal Lake, IL
2001 Dittmar Gallery, Evanston, IL
Recognition, Awards & Publications
2016 Leipzig Residency Award, New York Academy of Art
2016 Poets/Artists Magazine (December 2014)
2013/14 Finalist in Art Renewal Center’s Salon Competition, for Parameters.
2012 Travel grant from the Robert & Tina Yahng Foundation to study Baroque art in the Netherlands with The Ryder Studio.
2011/12 Finalist in the Art Renewal Center’s Salon Competition, for Siren Tears.
2011 Scholarship to attend The Portrait Society of America conference.
2010 American Artist Drawing (Spring 2010)2008 American Art Collector (October 2008)
2005 Scholarship from Andreeva Portrait Academy, underwritten by a grant from kynamatrix Research Network
2004 Honorable Mention, Tilt, Real People Exhibit, Old Court House Arts Center, Woodstock, IL
2001 Departmental Honors, Art Theory and Practice, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
2001 “Best in Show” award, Unnamed, Undergraduate Art Exhibition, Dittmar Gallery, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
2001 Daily Northwestern article, “Best in Show”
