{{Short description|American artist}} {{Infobox artist | name = Ken Tisa | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1945}}<ref name="Kate Werble">{{cite web |url= https://www.katewerblegallery.com/index.php/artist-bio/ken-tisa/ |title= KEN TISA|website= katewerblegallery.com|access-date= 11 Jul 2023}}</ref> | birth_place = Philadelphia, PA<ref name="Kate Werble"/> | baptised = <!-- will not display if birth_date is entered --> | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} --> | nationality = | education = Yale School of Art and Architecture (MFA)<ref name="Kate Werble"/> | alma_mater = Pratt Institute (BFA)<ref name="Kate Werble"/> | known_for = Textile art, assemblage, painting | notable_works = | style = | movement = | spouse = | partner = | awards = | elected = | patrons = | memorials = | website = | module = }}
'''Ken Tisa''' is an American artist.
==Early life and education== Ken Tisa was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1945. After receiving his BFA from Pratt Institute in 1968, he went on to receive his MFA from Yale School of Art and Architecture in 1971.<ref name="Kate Werble"/>
==Career== Tisa is well known for his beaded and embroidered wall-mounted tapestries. His textile works bear some resemblance to drapo Vodou.<ref name="Miami New Times">{{cite web |url= https://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/night-and-day-6358542|title=Night & Day|last=Korman|first=Nina|date=1 July 1999|website= miaminewtimes.com|access-date= 12 Jul 2023}}</ref> Most frequently he creates portraits of a single subject, depicted from the chest up, utilizing glass beads or sequins to compose a form out of contrasting fields of color.<ref name="ArtNews">{{cite web |url= https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/34-artworks-like-acquire-nada-miami-2017-9470/|title=34 Artworks I Would Like to Acquire from NADA Miami 2017|last=Russeth|first=Andrew|date=7 December 2017|website= artnews.com|access-date= 12 Jul 2023}}</ref><ref name="Hyperallergic">{{cite web |url= https://hyperallergic.com/393644/a-queer-homage-to-a-1970s-lesbian-separatist/|title=A Queer Homage to a 1970s Lesbian Separatist |last=Small|first=Zachary|date=3 August 2013|website= hyperallergic.com|access-date= 12 Jul 2023}}</ref>
Tisa has also displayed work that is an archive of objects, displayed alongside his work. His 2017 exhibition, ''Objects/Time/Offerings'', at Gordon Robichaux Gallery led to Svetlana Kitto's oral history of Sara Penn's Knobkerry in large part due to Tisa's eclectic display of objects and Penn's influence on his work.<ref name="NYT 2">{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/arts/design/what-to-see-in-new-york-art-galleries-this-week.html|title=What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week |last=Cotter|first=Holland|date=6 April 2017|website= The New York Times|access-date= 12 Jul 2023}}</ref> The exhibition included an installation of puppets, dolls, masks, ephemera, and collectibles from his personal collection.<ref name="Artforum">{{cite web |url= https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/202306/ken-tisa-90591|title=Ken Tisa|last=Krasinski|first=Jennifer|date=June 2023|website= artforum.com|access-date= 12 Jul 2023}}</ref>
===Public collections=== Ken Tisa's work is included in the public collections of the La Salle University Art Museum.<ref name="La Salle">{{cite web |url= https://artcollection.lasalle.edu/objects-1/portfolio?records=50&query=mfs%20any%20%22Tisa%22&sort=0|title=Browse the Collection|website=lasalle.edu|access-date= 14 Jul 2023}}</ref>
A series of artist's books that was made in collaboration with Kenward Elmslie and contains unique drawings by Ken Tisa is included in the National Gallery of Australia.<ref name="National Gallery of Australia">{{cite web |url= https://searchthecollection.nga.gov.au/artist/19056/ken-tisa|title=Ken Tisa|website=nga.gov.au|access-date= 14 Jul 2023}}</ref>
===Notable exhibitions=== Ken Tisa was included in the ''Whitney Biennial 1975: Contemporary American Art''.<ref name="Whitney">{{cite web |url= https://whitney.org/exhibitions/biennial-1975#exhibition-artists|title=Whitney Biennial 1975: Contemporary American Art|website= whitney.org|access-date= 14 Jul 2023}}</ref>
Tisa was included in the Museum of Modern Art's 1981 exhibition ''New York/New Wave.''<ref name="MoMA">{{cite web |url= https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/4213|title=New York/New Wave|website= moma.org|access-date= 11 Jul 2023}}</ref> In 1989, his work was included in ''Witnesses: Against Our Vanishing'' curated by Nan Goldin at Artists Space. The exhibition was organized in response to the ongoing AIDS epidemic and included work by Vittorio Scarpati, Greer Lankton, and others.<ref name="LA Times">{{cite web |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-16-ca-2020-story.html|title=NEA and the Arts: The Turmoil Continues : ART REVIEW : 'Witnesses' Show Presents AIDS as a Complex Issue|website= Los Angeles Times|last=Muchnic|first=Suzanne|date=16 November 1989|access-date= 11 Jul 2023}}</ref> The exhibition became the subject of public debate when John E. Frohnmayer, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts revoked the $10,000 grant awarded to the nonprofit gallery, a decision Frohmayer claimed was due to the overtly political nature of David Wojnarowicz's catalogue essay.<ref name="NYT">{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/19/arts/border-skirmish-art-and-politics.html|title=Border Skirmish: Art and Politics |website= The New York Times|last=Glueck|first=Grace|date=19 November 1989|access-date= 11 Jul 2023}}</ref>
Published in 2021, Tisa was interviewed and discussed prominently in Svetlana Kitto's oral history of Sara Penn's ''Knobkerry,'' accompanying an exhibition at SculptureCenter focusing on Penn's legacy and her multipurpose business. Kitto began her oral history after researching a catalogue for Tisa's 2017 exhibition at Gordon Robichaux Gallery, ''Objects/Time/Offerings.'' During her research Kitto frequently came across Penn's name and mentions of Knobkerry.<ref name="NYT3">{{cite news |last= Trebay|first= Guy|date= October 21, 2021|title= An East Village Boutique Where the Avant-Garde Gathered|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/style/knobkerry-east-village-boutique.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=April 2, 2022}}</ref>
In 2013, Tisa's work was part of a group show at Kate Werble Gallery commemorating Village Voice writer and lesbian separatist, Jill Johnston–the exhibition was titled ''in the hopes of not being considered.''<ref name="Hyperallergic"/>
===Reception=== Tisa's work has received critical attention and has been reviewed in Artforum magazine<ref name="Artforum" /> and the New York Times.<ref name="NYT 2" />
== References == {{Reflist}} {{Portal|Visual arts|New York City|Biography|LGBTQ}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tisa, Ken}} Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century American artists Category:21st-century American artists