Shea Gordon (born February 22, 1946, in Miami, FL) is an American artist whose work focuses on ecofeminism, symbolism, spirituality, the synthesis of art and science, and the biological health of life on earth. Gordon’s career spans nearly 50 years. She has exhibited nationally in New York City, Washington, D.C., Miami, Fla., Kansas City, Mo., among other locales, and internationally in England, Paris, South America, Israel, Australia and New Zealand. Her art is in the permanent collections of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art, The Nerman Museum at Johnson County Community College, The Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri and many corporate and private collections.
After first enrolling in art at the University of Miami in 1964, Gordon moved on to Finch College in New York City in 1965. In New York Gordon circulated through the art scene of the time where she experienced works of abstract expressionism, pop art and minimalism. In 1967 she became an assistant for renown Greek artist,Takis Vasilakis in his studio in the Chelsea Hotel. She assisted him in constructing his kinetic art sculptures: an experience which had a meaningful impact on her own work—an awakening of spiritual strength in her own abilities.
During this time Gordon began creating her own stream-of-consciousness “nature line” paintings foreshadowing her interest with ecological concerns. In 1971, with her husband, neuroscientist Barry Festoff, Gordon relocated to Washington, DC where she became the assistant director to conceptual gallerist Max Protech. In 1976 Gordon and Festoff moved to Kansas City, MO, to pursue work opportunities. Finding her spiritual center in the heartlands, Gordon’s work evolved as she began incorporating numerical systems, notions of synchronicity and coincidence as well as Jungian archetypal symbolism, into what was becoming a mature body of work.
For the past 40 years, Gordon has lived and worked in Kansas City, Missouri, while traveling, performing and exhibiting her work around the world. Her processes include drawing, painting, sculpture, books, performance art, sound art and digital imaging. She works from her studio in the Crossroads Arts District in downtown Kansas City.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2014 - “Under the Influence: The Work of Shea Gordon, 1967-2014,” Heidmann Art Salon, Kansas City, MO
2004 - "Floating the Gold Standard,” St. Anne’s College, Oxford University, Oxford, England, Curated by Dr. Alison Denham
1989 - “The Dead Sea: A Theory of Everything,” University of Missouri-Kansas City Art Gallery, Kansas City, MO, Curated by Craig Subler
1983 - “Walking the Line: Seed Tapes = Pierced Tapes,” Paintings, Drawings, Books, Douglas Drake Gallery, Kansas City, MO
1977 - Artist Books “Synchronicities: Numerological Portraits,” Franklin Furnace, New York, NY
