Education
Ilya Repin State Academy 2007 – 2012, 2015-2017
Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, St. Petersburg, Russia
The Academy, founded 250 years ago, was modeled after École des Beaux Arts in Paris and has maintained its rigorous academic program of representational art with a heavy emphasis on constructive anatomy and draftsmanship. I am the only American accepted to the sculpture department in the last 20 years of this, Russia’smost prestigious Art Academy.
Graduated with highest honors after seven-year intensive training in Drawing and Sculpture.
https://www.facebook.com/RTDocumentary/videos/1626827977373805/
Bridgeview School of Fine Art Queens, NY 2003 - 2007
Continuing Education
Figurative Drawing, Sculpture, and Painting in the tradition of the Russian Academy.
The Art Students Leagueof New York New York, NY 1990 - 1992 & 2003 - 2007
Continuing Education
Figurative Drawing, Oil Painting, Anatomy.
Repin Academy & Mukhina Academy St. Petersburg, Russia Summers 2005, 2006
Continuing Education
Intensive study in Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture.
School of Visual ArtsNew York, NY 2000 - 2003
Continuing Education
Life Drawing, Oil Painting, Figurative Sculpture.
Pratt InstituteBrooklyn, NY 2000 - 2001
Graduate Level Coursework
Graduate Art Therapy Program.
Oberlin CollegeOberlin, OH 1992 - 1996
Bachelor of Arts, in Mathematics;Also completed Pre-Medical coursework.
Professional Experience
Princeton Academyof Art Princeton, NJ 2018-present
Professor
- Teaching cast drawing, drawing from life, still life composition, sculpting the head, and master copying.
- Museum tours and daily lecture on anatomy and art history.
Beaux-Arts AcademyRome, Italy – Salt Lake City, UT – New York, NY – Washington D.C. 2014-2015
Professor
- Leading drawing tours of major Museums, classical monuments, and architectural masterworks in Rome, Florence, Naples, Siena, Salt Lake City, New York City, and Washington D.C.
- Teaching cast drawing, drawing from life, still life composition, sculpting the head, master copying, and plaster-casting.
- Organizing daily drawing/art history excursions during the program’s three months in Italy.
- Collaborating with the Architecture, Painting, and Art History Professors to refine the inter-disciplinary curriculum we created the previous year in NYC, with a heavy emphases on the mutual interdependence of these sister disciplines
Grand Central AcademyNew York, NY 2014
Instructor
- Teaching full and part time students to sculpt the figure.
- Presenting lectures on the Russian Academic tradition.
http://grandcentralatelier.blogspot.com/2014/04/james-sondows-evening-sculpture-class.html
Beaux-Arts AtelierNew York, NY 2013-2014
Instructor
- Leading drawing tours of museums and outdoor sculptural monuments in conjunction with the art history instructor.
- Researching not only the curriculum of the Russian Academy, but also of the premiere fine art high schools in Saint Petersburg where most of the students are trained for many years before the Academy.
Shaarei Shalom Hebrew School Saint Petersburg, Russia 2007 - 2009
Art Teacher
- Developing and writing school’s art curriculum.
- Teaching art classes to students aged 4 – 15 years of age
- Designing art projects with an emphasis on Jewish Holidays and Festivals
- Conducting classes in English and Russian.
- Developing and leading an art curriculum with intensive weekend-long retreats for students and parents
Saint Ann'sSchoolBrooklyn, NY 1997 - 2007, Summers 2008 & 2009
Art Teacher, Master Teacher, Associate Teacher, Mathematics Teacher, In-House Tutor
- Creating multi-disciplinary curricula to develop students' academic and artistic skills, relying heavily on visual arts and creative writing.
- Training and supervising associate teachers.
- Developing and teaching accelerated mathematics curricula to students in grades 2, 3, and 8.
- In-house tutor for English, Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics.
- Teaching students to create multimedia pieces including stop-motion animation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzB8ugvC2H0
Rubin Museum of ArtNew York,NY 2004 - 2007
Educator
- Developing art programs exploring the museum’s collection with support of an NEA grant
- Administering and implementing semester-long art projects in a variety of public schools in NYC with grades K –12 culminating in an exhibition of the children’s art at the Rubin Museum.
- Creating professional development programs for public school teachers about the success of this collaborative model.
Exhibitions
Kate Oh Gallery New York, NY 2020
Solo Exhibition in February
Hudson Valley Art Association Old Lyme, CT 2019
86thAnnual National Juried Exhibition
Hell Gate Arts Bronx, NY 2019
South Bronx Independent Artists Coalition
Vero Beach Art ClubVero Beach, FL 2019
“New Dimensions”
Salmagundi Club New York, NY 2019
“Figuratively Speaking”: An Exhibition of Portraiture and Figurative Art
It's the Bronx Bronx, NY 2018
Bronx Art Festival
https://www.facebook.com/james.sondow/videos/10155950501120778/
The American Artists Professional League New York, NY 2018
90thGrand National Exhibition
2 Americans At the Saint Petersburg Academy of Art Saint Petersburg, Russia 2018
First solo exhibition of sculpture by an American in the Repin Academy’s 250 year history
https://news.jeps.ru/lichnaya-istoriya/dzhejms-sondou-evrejskij-xudozhnik-iz-ssha-intervyu.html?fbclid=IwAR3NBOCm22G65R7Pp28aX93LGMcrSdzHlJWw-0H763OtFE6b5ykZ6Dv-Rag
https://spbvedomosti.ru/news/culture/amerikanskie_khudozhniki_v_peterburge/?fbclid=IwAR10v6WFaoh7fR7YuOBvwDOXWGnqFaEXzi5lFDpYJCiyKJ7Z6D2bpBopvFI
https://www.facebook.com/james.sondow/videos/10155417941065778/
Kate Oh Gallery New York, NY 2017
“All In One” group exhibition
https://www.kateohgallery.com/aiojames-sondow
Repin Academy Saint Petersburg, Russia 2008 – 2012, 2015-2017
Annual Fall and Winter Exhibitions
Union of Artists Saint Petersburg, Russia 2011,2015,2016
Annual juried sculpture exhibition
Grand Central AtelierBrooklyn, NY 2015
Exhibition of Professors’ work
Classical Art Conference Salt Lake City, UT 2014
Exhibition of Professors’ work
Russian Institute of Horse Breeding (VNIIK)Ryazan, Russia 2010, 2011
Summer Exhibitions of Equine Sculpture and Drawing
MadArts Gallery Brooklyn, NY 2004- 2007
Annual Fall, Winter, and Spring Exhibitions
Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition Brooklyn, NY 2005, 2006, 2007
Participated in annual Park Slope Open Studio Tours
K-Place Gallery New York, NY 2005
Group Exhibition
Chelsea Art Museum New York, NY 2004
Group Exhibition
Honors
The National Sculpture Society New York, NY 2019
Elected Member
Hudson Valley Art Association Old Lyme, CT 2019
86thAnnual National Juried Exhibition,
Agop Agopoff Memorial Award for sculpture
Portrait Society of America Atlanta, GA 2019
2019 International Portrait Competition,
Certificate of Excellence
Art Renewal Center Port Reading, NJ 2019
14th International ARC Salon Competition, finalist
Ilya Repin State Academy Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, St. Petersburg, Russia2017
First and only American to graduate with highest honors and be offered a solo show
The National Sculpture Society New York, NY 2013
National Sculpture Competition, Gloria Medal
The Pennsylvania Academy Of The Fine Arts Philadelphia, PA 2005
XXVI National Sculpture Competition, 2ndplace
