Penelope Umbrico – Tania Sen

Penelope Umbrico @ sf moma

SF Moma

Having begun my journey in the arts from age four, misdiagnosed with diphtheria and confined to a hospital bed in remote small town Bihar, India, it was my dream to make art. When I lost my father in my teens, it was up to me to support my family. With a very young brother and a stay at home mother I worked as a publicity personnel writing press releases, for the Indian Railways. And completed undergraduate studies from Calcutta University with Honors in English.

I qualified for an academic scholarship at New York Institute of Technology. When things stabilized a bit at home, I took a leap of faith and joined graduate school in NYC. After graduation I joined the ad industry for twenty some years. Then turned to teaching and art therapy since 2001. I taught Advertising Design at the College of St. Elizabeth, Morristown, NJ and practiced Art therapy with autistic children at the Morris Union Jointure Commission, Warren, NJ. For more on international exhibitions click here.

For my art, I embraced a contemporary narrative here in the US far from my birth city of Kolkata, India. Experimenting with form and media, I found many an accomplished mentor who shared their expertise with me in realizing my artistic goals. Essentially self-taught, my works exhibited at the Newark Museum (NJ),
The Royal Scottish Academy, Tate (UK) Mumbai Museum (India) Contemporary Art Museum S. Korea, Torpedo Art Factory, Monmouth Museum (NJ) Haggin Museum (CA), Lalit Kala Academy h (India), Feminist Art Project, Goggleworks, Prince Street Gallery, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, NYC etc.

A founder member of SIPMA Contemporary, I curated a number of exhibits with an emphasis on inter-disciplinary art. I collaborated in experimental dance/art at Swarthmore College and performance art at the Soho 20 gallery, NYC.