JANE ROSEN

ROSEN--Jane. Jane Rosen, the renowned American artist, educator, writer and polymath passed away on April 18, 2025, in Northern California, surrounded by her loving family and friends. Born in New York City on April 6, 1950, she rose to prominence as a singular multimedia sculptor whose work gave modernist form to the timeless rhythms of the natural world - rhythms she sensed in everything around her, from the slow rise of Pacific waves that shape a nautilus shell to the wing of a red-tailed hawk riding the coastal wind. "I can hear form," she would say. A truly bi-coastal artist, Jane spent her formative years living and working in the SoHo of 1970's New York City, immersed in a tight-knit community of artists who would go on to shape the landscape of contemporary art. Jane earned her B.A. from New York University in 1972 and continued her studies at the Art Students League with Robert Beverly Hale, sparking a lifelong connection to Leonardo da Vinci and other great masters. Her command of Renaissance technique, esoteric philosophy, and material science inspired her to experiment and invent. From Portuguese marble and Seattle glass to Provencal limestone, surfboard resin, and coastal willows, she engineered new materials and sculptural structures entirely her own. While her time in New York informed much of her work, it was the California coast that became the true catalyst for it - and her forever home. A single visit to a rural property in San Gregorio was enough to draw her away from life in Manhattan. She spent the rest of her life there, working and living in deep communion with the land, helping us reconnect with nature through art, and through it, with our own better nature. Jane's ability to integrate philosophy, history, science, nature and art was magnetic. But it was her boundless generosity of spirit that attracted and shaped thousands of lives and fostered lasting fellowships. Students from coast to coast - her art children - remained devoted to her across decades; several became renowned artists and educators in their own right. She believed that "drawing yields to investigation," and urged students to begin not with answers but with careful, attentive seeing. "It is better," she often said, "to have a strong question than a weak answer." Jane's faculty positions included U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Davis, Bard College, the School of Visual Arts in New York, and Stanford University. Among her many honors, she received the National Endowment for the Arts Sculpture Award. Rosen's work is featured in numerous public and private collections including The Brooklyn Museum, Scottsdale Museum of Art, Mitsubishi Corporation, Luso American Foundation, and the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia. She has been honored by the Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City, the Pilchuck Glass School as an Artist-in- Residence, and is a recipient of the Madein/Luso American Foundation Grant. She published a book called "Dual Nature" with Pointed Leaf Press in 2021. Rosen was represented by numerous galleries around the United States including Sears Peyton Gallery in New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA; Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA; Gail Severn Gallery in Sun Valley, ID; Maya Frodeman Gallery in Jackson, WY; Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA; Winfield Gallery in Carmel, CA and Bienvenu Steinberg & C. in New York, NY. Jane was known for her New York sense of humor, her fantastical yet true stories, and for her insatiable love for friends, family and life. Many were privileged to know Jane, work with her, and love her. She is survived by her brother Joe Rosen, daughter Lila Tretikov, niece Samantha Royalty, nephew Max Rosen, grandson Max Tretikov and godson Noah Brick, and her care companions Lety Pemberton, Edith and Eduardo Marin. She is predeceased by her mother, Norma Rosen, and her father, Mel Rosen, both of whom she loved dearly. Jane loved all animals in her life. Mayo, Mei Mei, Rookie, Bookie, Mei Rose, Puma, Thomas, Cash and Negrita will forever live on in the memories of those close to Jane through countless stories. A singular force for good on behalf of the natural world, Jane worked, taught, advocated, and lived to restore our connection to nature and animals. The 40-acre hilltop sanctuary that was her California home will become a place for artists to gather and work among the ancient redwoods and a monument to her life's work. A celebration of her life and her ethos will be announced at a later date. Donations can be made to Hearts for Paws Rescue of California in her memory.