Oriane Stender
B. 1960
American
Oriane Stender began working with currency in the late 1990s because, as she states, everyone has a relationship with money. Realizing the potency of cash as a medium – one rife with association and meaning – Stender meticulously cut slits in currency bills (with an X-Acto knife and metal ruler), which she then infused with colored paper, creating woven works that merged her love for folk art and textiles with mid-20th century Pop art. Her work in Cultural Currency, for example, is a direct reference to Pop artist Robert Indiana’s famous 1967 screen print, LOVE. The resulting woven work is both literately and figuratively layered with complex meaning, including a critique of cultural appropriation. By incorporating money with Pop art imagery, Stender also highlights that financial gain is truly at the root of the art world, taking a cue from Warhol, who famously stated. “Making money is art, and working is art, and good business is the best art.”
Oriane Stender studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and UC Berkeley. Her work is in the collection of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Federal Reserve Board, Washington, DC; JP Morgan Chase; the International Collage Center, Milton, PA; and other institutions and private collections. She has written features for Hyperallergic and Artnet News and has received grants and residency awards from Artadia, the California Arts Council, and Millay Colony. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
