about
Shamona Stokes (b. 1980) is a New Jersey-born artist who works out of her studio at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City. She holds a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY (2002). Her sculptures and mixed media paintings explore the imaginary figures & landscapes of the subconscious. In 2017, Shamona exhibited her work for the first time as one of the regional semi-finalists in the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series. She’s exhibited at The Untitled Space (NYC), at art fairs like SCOPE (Art Basel Miami) and Superfine! (NYC), and has also worked on large-scale installations–most recently a shrine dedicated to the human imagination–shown at the Fort Worth Community Art Center in Texas. Her work has been featured in media outlets like New York Magazine’s “The Cut”, The Jealous Curator, ArtSlant, and Create! Magazine. Her most recent project, “Horn of Plenty”, a book about the inner child that she wrote & illustrated, is available for purchase here.
Shamona’s body of work is a product of a meditation and reiki practice which began in 2016. Prior to that, she hadn’t made any artwork in over 16 years. Learn more about her approach to art-making and the creative services she offers here.
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Lives and works in Jersey City, NJ
Education
2015-2017 School of Visual Arts, Continuing Education in Ceramics, NY, NY 2002 Pratt Institute, BFA Magna Cum Laude, Brooklyn, NY
Solo Installations
2019 Fort Worth Community Arts Center, “Horn of Plenty,” Fort Worth, TX
Group Exhibitions
2020 SoHo Pop Up Art Show presented by NYC Arts Empire, NY, NY
2020 Showfields x PxP Contemporary, Live Online Curation
2020 MANA Decentralized, “Member Works: Sculpture,” Jersey City, NJ
2020 The Mural Room, “Because I Saw a Mountain,” Brooklyn, NY
2020 Deep Space Gallery, “Return of the Mothership,” Jersey City, NJ
2019 The Untitled Space, “Body Beautiful,” NY, NY
2019 Project Studios, “Project Studios Group Exhibition,” Hoboken, NJ
2019 PxP Contemporary, “50×500 Show”, Online Curation
2019 Sugarlift, “Mother & Child II: Benefit to Support Immigrant Families,” NY, NY
2018 Deep Space Gallery, “The Mothership,” Jersey City, NJ
2018 The Untitled Space, “Defining Form”, NY, NY
2018 Sugarlift, “Mother & Child Vol. I: Benefit to Support Immigrant Families,” NY, NY
2018 HUE Gallery, “Zip, Bang, Pop! Run! It’s The Cops!: Contemporary Pop Art National Invitational Exhibition,” Wichita, KS
2017 Allouche Gallery, “Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series” sponsored by Artsy + SCOPE, NY, NY
2016 Rough Draft, “Summer Show,” Brooklyn, NY
Art Fairs
2020 MANA Contemporary & CADAF Digital Art Fair, Jersey City, NJ
2019 Superfine! Art Fair, NY, NY
2018 SCOPE Art Fair, Miami, FL
2018 Superfine! Art Fair, NY, NY
2018 Clio Art Fair, NY, NY
Auctions
2020 Art for Food Auction benefiting Food Bank 4 NYC
2020 Art4Equality x Paddle 8, “Body Beautiful”
Awards
2020 Giving Artist award presented by the Jersey City Arts Council
2017 ArtSlant Prize Showcase Winner in Sculpture
Publications
2020 Friend of the Artist Vol. 11 Feature
2019 Create! Magazine Women’s Issue Feature
Speaking Engagements
2020 The Cultivist, Brooklyn, NY
2011 The Art Institute of New York, NY, NY
Selected Press
2020 Friend of the Artist Vol. 11
2019 Create! Magazine Podcast interview
2019 Body Beautiful Review at the Untitled Space NYC by Chloe Hyman
2019 Supersonic Art Online Artist Spotlight
2019 The Jealous Curator Online Artist Spotlight
2019 Colossal “Mother & Child Vol. II Raises over $15,000 to Support Separated Immigrant Families”
2019 Create! Magazine Inaugural “Women’s Issue” Printed Feature
2019 Kickstarter “Antenna: A Sculptural Shrine to the Human Imagination”
2019 Create! Magazine Online Artist Spotlight
2018 SCOPE Miami Beach Video by Jason McGroarty
2018 Boston Voyager Interview
2018 New York Magazine’s “The CUT” featuring my work in print
2018 NewStand Interview “Artist Shamona Stokes Will Make You Feel Like a Kid Again” by Nana Kim
2018 Superfine! Art Fair Review by Chloe Hyman of Canvas and Crumpets
2018 Supersonic Art Online Artist Spotlight
2017 Young Space Interview by Kate Mothes
2017 Creative Boom Artist Spotlight
2017 UNDER THE RADAR: ArtSlant Prize Showcase Winner in Sculpture
2017 Supersonic Art Online Artist Spotlight
giving
I believe in an ecosystem of giving. If you collect my artwork, you’ve helped raise $9,765.00 in charitable donations towards the following causes:
The Antennae Grant for Women in the Arts, National Resources Defense Council, Welcome Home Jersey City, Meals on Wheels, Center for Biodiversity, Khalsaaid.org, CARE, Polaris Project, and Food Bank NYC among others. I keep a detailed list of these donations for both tax purposes and transparency. Happy to share it if you reach out!
Thank you for supporting my work.