previewing exhibition
Brooklyn artist Jeanne Verdoux’s latest exhibition, Female Vaisselle, at the Sculpture Space NYC from February 2 to March 2, 2024, marks her first solo show in New York City. Verdoux captures the essence of the female form through a blend of ceramics, drawings, monoprints, and video art. The title itself is a linguistic play, merging the French word “vaisselle” (meaning tableware) with the English “vessel,” reflecting the dual themes of domesticity and the female body as a container of multifarious experiences.
Verdoux’s work encompasses a wide range of mediums and scale. It includes detailed pen drawings, expansive charcoal and acrylic pieces on unconventional materials such as mattress paper salvaged from a mattress factory. These drawings, ranging from life-long sketches to large-scale artworks, are the conceptual basis for her three-dimensional ceramic sculptures, where ideas initially captured on paper take tangible form.
Since 2015, Verdoux has been focusing on the feminine body as a “vessel,” a theme that culminates in her use of clay to create literal vessels. These ceramic sculptures represent the female figure as symbolic containers, each piece narrating aspects of the feminine experience, including fertility, motherhood, and the balancing act of modern womanhood, infused with elements of humor and absurdity.
Female Vaisselle presents a collection of over 20 ceramic sculptures, varying in height from 4 to 19 inches. Additionally, the exhibition features a wide array of works on paper, from small, postcard-sized pieces to large, king-sized bed-sized drawings. Every ceramic sculpture in the exhibition is a functional glazed vessel, forming a diverse and colorful ‘family’ of shapes and sizes.
A distinct inclusion in the exhibition is Verdoux’s first ceramic water fountain, titled “Runny Nose,” and a video of her 2023 collaborative performance, “Out of the Vessel,” with dancer and choreographer Jovonna Parks. These multimedia elements demonstrate Verdoux’s versatility and commitment to exploring the intersection of different art forms.
Jeanne Verdoux: Female Vaisselle is on view February 2 to March 2, 2024 at Sculpture Space NYC opening reception Friday, February 2, 6:00–8:00 pm 47-21 35th Street, Long Island City NY 11101 Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday,: 2pm-8pm
The Female Vaisselle project was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and with public funds from the Queens Arts Fund, a re-grant program supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.
About the artist: Jeanne Verdoux (born in 1966) is a French American mixed media visual artist. She received awards and grants from the New York State Council of the Arts, Queens Arts Fund, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Bronx Museum, New York Foundation for the Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, French Institute, French Ministry of Culture. Her work has been exhibited in the US, Canada, France and China and reviewed in The New York Times, Huffington Post and Boston Globe. In recent years, she has exhibited several times at Frosch&Co gallery in New York. She earned an MFA from the Royal College of Art (London) and a BFA from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués (Paris). She is a Professor at Parsons and NYU. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
About Sculpture Space NYC: Sculpture Space NYC is a ceramic and sculpture center founded in 2013. Sculpture Space NYC’s mission is to stimulate creativity, new ideas and collaboration in ceramics-based investigations. Artists, designers, and craftspeople of all backgrounds converge in this center to experiment, learn, make, reflect and grow artistically. SSNYC-CCA Curatorial Program is dedicated to promoting contemporary visual art focusing on the research and exploration of three-dimensional work with an emphasis towards ceramics. The not-for-profit gallery maintains an ongoing exhibition schedule featuring works of the underrepresented artist community, as well as the work of emerging and established artists.