Harriett Finck: MVA Open Studios

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Harriett Finck in front of Gears, 2021, 52” x 52”,acrylic on paper

Manufacturers Village Artist Studios, located in an 1880’s historic industrial complex at 356 Glenwood Avenue in East Orange, NJ, will feature the work of over 60 different artists at its annual open studios weekend, Friday 10/15 (VIP Preview) and Saturday thru Sunday from 11-5, 10/16 and 10/17.

After practicing as an architect for over a decade, Harriet Finck turned to collage and painting. She holds a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University.  At Harvard, she studied with the painter, Flora Natapoff. Harriet has had residencies at the Rubin Frankel Art Gallery at the Boston University Hillel, at William Paterson University, with Art Kibbutz, and at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. She participates in group exhibits annually, and has had one woman and duo shows at galleries in New York and New Jersey, and has work in corporate collections.  

Tell me about yourself and your art.

My work is mostly abstract, in acrylic on paper. An overarching theme is the oneness of natural phenomena; finding similar patterns at the cellular and astronomical levels. I’m interested in the idea of fragmentation leading to wholeness. I have worked with mixed media such as foil scrolls and found object assemblages. Periodically, I turn to ancient Hebrew texts for a motif, sometimes incorporating the words themselves, mining an intensive education in classical Jewish narratives for meaning.

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Arcs 2021, 24” x 36”, acrylic and gouache on wood panel

What will we see in your studio?

I will be showing work that I have done in 2020-21, the year of hibernation. I made a series of pieces with metallic grounds, on paper and on wood panels, featuring geometric and organic shapes; glittering worlds.

I also will be showing an extensive series of ink on paper drawings; at first abstract forms, then a group of x-ray- like explorations of household, carpentry and gardening tools.

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Saw, 2021, 16” x 22” ink on paper
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Bioforms, 2021, 24” x 36” acrylic and gouache on wood panel