Nance O'Banion

Nance O'Banion was an Oakland-based American artist who "pioneered creative explorations of handmade paper". She is known for her sculptural paper works and book works which focus on themes of change and transformation. A retrospective sample of the arc of her work may be viewed at: https://nance-obanion.com

Early life and education

Nance O'Banion was born in Oakland, California and grew up in San Leandro, California. She received her Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Berkeley, in 1971 and her Master of Arts in 1973.

Career

In 1970 O'Banion began to explore the use of handmade paper as a sculptural medium. By 1977 she was "well known for her long involvement in the Bay Area fiber arts movement". Her artworks ranged from large, public sculptures to unique limited-edition books to drawn or painted wood tablets. Over the last two decades her work underwent a striking transformation, both in scale, from the grand to the intimate, and in content, from the abstract to the symbolic. This was due in part to neurological changes and their resulting perceptual insights, but also to a growing desire to communicate a more intensely personal vision in her work. This most recent body of work was featured in the solo exhibition Present Tense at California College of the Arts in 2016, which included 11 books and over 650 drawings documenting her unique and introspective personal journey.

Awards and fellowships

O'Banion won two National Endowment for the Arts Awards, the first in 1982, the second in 1988.

Selected exhibitions

O'Banion has exhibited internationally in both solo and group exhibitions. Selected solo exhibitions include:Present Tense at Tecoah Bruce Gallery, Oliver Art Center, California College of the Arts, Oakland, California, USA

Breaking the Surface: Telling Stories at John F Kennedy University Gallery, Berkeley, California, USA
Day Dreams from the Heart at Oakland Museum of California, USA
Daydreams in 3-D at The Allrich Gallery, San Francisco, California, USA
Science in Action: At Home, at The Allrich Gallery, San Francisco, California, USAWindows, Curtains, Maps and Rocks at Kaufman Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA
Hestkobgard, Birkerod, Denmark
Gallery Coco, Kyoto, Japan
Bank of America World Headquarters, San Francisco, California, USA

Collections

Nance O'Banion's work is held in numerous public and private collections including:

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, USA
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA
SFO Museum, San Francisco, USA
Seattle Art Museum, USA
Cleveland Museum of Art, USA
Minneapolis Institute of Art, USA

Teaching

In the early 1970s O'Banion was faculty at the Fiberworks Center for the Textile Arts, an experimental fiber art institution founded in Berkeley by Gyöngy Laky in 1973. She began working at California College of Arts and Crafts in 1974 and was a professor there for over 40 years. At CCA Nance taught innovative programs in the fine arts with a focus on printmaking, textiles, papermaking, and book arts. She led courses within the individualized major and graduate programs which, like the arc of her own work, transcended disciplines and media. During her tenure she served as Printmaking Chair and President of the Faculty Senate, as well as being a mentor to individual faculty. In addition to her work at CCA she taught courses and workshops throughout the United States, Europe, and Canada. Her courses, like her art, reflect a multimedia, interdisciplinary, and often collaborative approach to creativity.