York, Star Liana Biography

York, Star Liana Biography

Star Liana York tells the story of her own discoveries through her art. While her career as a professional sculptor began over twenty years ago, much of the recognition she has achieved comes from a body of work created after moving to the Southwest in 1985. It reflects her introduction to the native peoples of the area such as Navajo, Apache, Hopi, and Pueblo, as well as the wildlife and unique rock art. In the narrative tradition of American Art of the West, her work succeeds in capturing authentic aspects of the past and interpreting historic figures with convincing realism.

Star York's interest in people, animals and the environment is global, although the source of inspiration for a significant part of her work continues to come from Native American cultures. Another portion of her inspiration comes from raising and training quarter horses which is manifested in her series of sculptures depicting horses. Their portrayal in her hands is spirited, articulate, and lyrical; evidence of the empathy she feels toward her subjects.

Each sculpture is a part of a narrative. Beneath the storytelling surface are figures animated by individuality and personality, derived in part from Star's remarkable talent for expressing the thought of her subject. This sensitivity in representation combined with her attention to detail contribute to an underlying message of oneness with the natural world which is in much of her work.

From the balance and quiet strength reflected in a subtle gesture or expression to the metaphor extended in time and space, Star is able to give even her stationary figures a palpable sense of place. By engaging this full range of sensibilities, the viewer in turn receives a more satisfying aesthetic experience.

While she has found the Western idiom to be versatile, powerful and true for many of her feelings and ideas, Star York's willingness to experiment with tradition and her need to continue territorial investigations sometimes compels her to step outside the genre that has brought her success. By choosing to follow unfamiliar paths in a personal search for meaning, she secures the integrity of her artistic career.

Education

University of Maryland, Baltimore Institute of Art, Corcoran, Washington, DC

  • 2014 -  Honorary Artist “Prevailing Winds” Booth Western Heritage and Art Museum
  • 2013 - Purchase Prize “Range Duty” at the Cowgirl Up! Exhibition, Desert Caballeros Museum, Wickenburg, AZ
  • 2013 - An Honorary Artist, The Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM
  • 2013 - Santa Fe Gallery Association’s Art Smart Artist of the Year
  • 2012 - Honored Artist for the Art Smart, Santa Fe, NM
  • 2009 - Artist Choice Award, National Cowgirls Museum and Hall of Fame, Fort Worth, TX
  • 2001 - 30 Stars of 30 Years Southwest Art, Best in 3 Decades of Southwest Art
  • 1994 - Best of Show, The Classic Art Show, Albuquerque, NM
  • 1990 - Western Artist of the Year, Collectors Society, Minneapolis, MN
  • 1989 - Judges Merit, Minneapolis Western & Wildlife Art Exhibition, MN
  • 1987 - Council of American Artists Society Award, Catherine Lorillard Art Club, New York, NY
  • 1987 - Best of Show, Traditional Western Art Show, Gallup, NM
  • 1986 - Buckaroo Heritage Award, Indian Heritage Award, Western Art Roundup, Winnemucca, NV
  • 1982 - First Place, Miniature Painters, Gravers, Sculptors Society of Washington, DC
  • 1981 - Second Place, Miniature Painters, Gravers, Sculptors Society of Washington, DC
  • 1979 - First Place, Miniature Painters, Gravers, Sculptors Society of Washington, DC
  • “Range Duty” Desert Caballeros Western Heritage Museum, Wickenburg, AZ
  • “Maria Martinez” for the annual Millicent Rogers Museum Turquoise Ball, Taos, NM. Sculpture now resides in the Maria Martinez Hall
  • “Range Duty” Life Size, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
  • “Distant Thunder” monument, UNM Cancer Center, Albuquerque, NM
  • “Blessing Way” monument, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO
  • “Dreamcatcher” monument, Oklahoma University, Oklahoma City, OK
  • “Magic of the Hunt” monument, Fremont, IN
  • “This Fragile Life” monument, Miami Zoo, Miami, FL
  • “Earth Medicine” Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC
  • 2018 - Tucson Sculpture Festival, Copenhagen, Tucson, AZ
  • 2017 - 25th Anniversary Celebration, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
  • 2017 - "Under a Vast Sky" Group show, American Woman Artists, Tucson Desert Art Museum, AZ
  • 2016 - Western Community College, Lecture and Workshop, Silver City, NM
  • 2015, 2016 - Haley Historical Museum and Library Show and Sale
  • 2015 - “Museum of the Horse Show and Sale” Mountain Oyster Club, Tucson, AZ
  • 2013 - “Trappings of the American West” Phippen Museum, Prescott, AZ
  • 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 - “Power of the Horse” Phippen Museum, Prescott, AZ
  • 2013, 2014 - “Prevailing Winds: American Women Artists,” Booth Museum, Cartersville, GA
  • 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 - Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West, Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Wickenburg, AZ
  • 2012 - Visions of the Southwest, Arizona Desert Sonoran Museum, Tucson, AZ
  • 2010 - 6th Annual Heart of the West Exhibition, National Cowgorl Museum and Hall of Fame, Fort Worth, TX
  • 2009 - Historic Trading Posts of the West, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
  • 2007 - The Southwest in Bronze, solo, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
  • 2007 - Arizona: A Millennium of Arizona Art, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
  • 2006, 2007 - Desert Cabballeros Western Museum “Cow girl Up” Wickenburg, AZ
  • 2005 - Animal Spirits and Objects of Power, Santa Fe, NM
  • 2005 - Prince George Alumni Show, Largo, MD
  • 2005 - Night of the Artist Show, San Antonio, TX
  • 2005 - Art Feast Santa Fe NM
  • 2004 - Trappings of the American West Show Santa Fe, NM
  • 2004 - Western Fashion show on horseback
  • 2004 - Espanola Animal shelter sculpting demonstration “Pound Pup”
  • 2003 - Sky Arbor Wild Life Exhibit
  • 2003 - Master Miniature Show, Albuquerque, NM
  • 2002 - Sculpture Show And Demonstration, Beaver Creek Fine Art, Beaver Creek, CO
  • 2002 - Wild Horse Show, Denver , CO
  • 2002 - Koshare Museum, La Junta, CO
  • 2002 - Cowboy Artist of America Museum, Romancing the West
  • 2002 - Fort Lewis College, Dedication with Blessing Way Monument
  • 2002 - Oklahoma University Children’s Hospital Dedication with the Dreamcatcher Monument
  • 2001, 2005 - All Artists Indian Market Show, Santa Fe NM
  • 2001 - Animal Group Show, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson AZ
  • 2001 - Hot Art Show, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson AZ
  • 1998 - One Woman Show, The Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK
  • 1998 - The Art of Loving, Invitational, Bennington Center for the Arts, VT
  • 1997 - Covering the West: Cover Artist of The SW Art Magazine
  • 1996 - National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY
  • 1992-1996 - The Classic Art Show, Albuquerque, NM, (Awarded Best of Show in Sculpture for "Ganado Red" in 1994)
  • 1991-1993, & 1996 - Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM
  • 1991-4 - Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ "Woman & The West"
  • 1989, 1992, 1993 - Nita Haley Library & Museum, Western Art Show
  • 1988 - Trails West, Laguna Beach, CA "Rancho de Santa Fe" Invitational
  • 1986 - Pioneer Museum, Colorado Springs, CO
  • 1985 - Canton Museum, Canton, OH
  • 1985 - Cowgirl Hall of Fame, Hereford, TX
  • 2020 - Western Art and Architecture, August/September, feature article
  • 2019 - Western Art Collector, June, "Meeting the Rising Sun" by John O'Hern
  • 2018 - Southwest Art, August
  • 2018 - Western Art and Architecture, December 2017-January 2018
  • 2014 - “My World: A Visit with Star Liana York”, Southwest Art Magazine, February issue
  • 2013 - Art of the West, September/October issue
  • 2013 - “Living with Art” Santa Fean, November issue
  • 2013 - Feature article, Southwest Art, August issue
  • 2012 - Feature article, Cowboys and Indians, June issue
  • 2009 - Telling Moments ~Southwest Art Magazine
  • 2007 - The Enduring Western Spirit Focus- Santa Fe Magazine
  • 2007 - Passionate about Art-and Life, Wildlife Art Magazine
  • 2007 - Star Liana York and Jeffery Lee Brock . . .Merging Art and Life
  • 2001 - “30 Stars of 30 Years featured as one of the most significant and influential artists of the last 30 years” by Southwest Art Magazine
  • 2000 - Horse Power in Life and Art, Cover artist for the Equine Image
  • 1999 - Horse Power, Pasatiempo, The New Mexican, Art of the West
  • 1999 - Star Liana York: Bridging the Gap, Art of the West
  • 1998 - Star York: Riding a New Direction, Art Talk
  • 1997 - Leading the West: 100 Contemporary Painters and Sculptors by Don Hagerty, Northland Publishing, New Mexican, InformArt, “Covering the West” Cover artist of Southwest Art Magazine
  • 1997 - Where Inner Life is More Important... New Mexican
  • 1997 - Visions of the West Through the Work of Six Sculptors, InformArt
  • 1997 - Sculptor Inspired by Nature... Arizona Republic
  • 1996 - New Land Gives New Spirit to Star York, New Mexican
  • 1995 - Unfamiliar Paths, Southwest Art Magazine
  • 1993 - Sculptor: A Rising Star, New Mexico Magazine
  • 1991 - Sculpture in New Mexico, Art & Antiques
  • 1989 - No Clichés Here, Art of the West
  • 1988 - How Liberal Are the Arts, Wildlife Art News
  • 1987 - Cowgirl Art: How the West was Really Won, Santa Fe Reporter, Southwest Art Magazine, Albuquerque Journal Magazine, Midwest Art
  • 1987 - Recasting the West, Southwest Art
  • 1987 - Star Liana York, Albuquerque Journal Magazine
  • 1987 - The Colors of the West, Midwest Art