clay – Page 3 – Art Spiel

September 29, 2020September 22, 2020, by Etty Yaniv

Melissa Stern in Domestic Brutes at Pelham Art Center

In Dialogue with Melissa Stern

:M.Stern for Etty.jpg — **NYC Studio, with the sculpture WIG SHOP**

Melissa Stern is an artist, working in mixed materials and across genres. She is interested in ideas that are simultaneously funny and dark- that is, “work that might make you smile or laugh, but with a wee bit of discomfort,” as she puts it. Much of her work of recent years focuses on home and childhood and the ways in which our childhoods and our memories haunt our lives. She works in clay, found objects, wood, metal collage and various drawing materials. Her goal is that the materials she uses are at the service of the ideas. On a different note she says, “I am an only child, raised by older parents who were first generation Americans. My mother desperately wanted to be ‘American’. My father was very connected to his European heritage. This push and pull; between belonging and being an outsider has profoundly influenced my life as an artist.” Melissa Stern is participating in Domestic Brutes at Pelham Art Center.

March 18, 2020November 15, 2020, by Etty Yaniv

Paul Mok – The Study of Mundane

Paul Mok in dialogue with Art Spiel on his show at GAIA in Dumbo

Designer, architect, and visual artist Paul Mok shares with Art Spiel the origin, idea and process behind his installation based solo exhibition at GAIA in Dumbo.
Due to the Corona-virus, the gallery hours will very likely vary. For updates reach out to (917) 704-9600.

March 18, 2019March 19, 2019, by Etty Yaniv

Pat Lay: Mapping New Interiors

Pat Lay, installation view in studio, photo courtesy of the artist

Pat Lay‘s Digital work conjures ancient iconography, or maps organized in what appears to be a binary logic. Throughout her abstracted digital and more figurative sculptural work she consistently reflects on the role of technology in our life, merging cultural cues with a seemingly mathematical order. For Art Spiel the artist elaborates on her interest in technology, what brought her to art, and her 42 year experience as an art educator at Montclair State University – both as a teacher and as the founding director of the MFA in Studio Art.

October 31, 2018June 4, 2020, by Etty Yaniv

Strange Girls at Garvey Simon

Artist Melissa Stern says that the chance to work with dancer Louisa Pancoast on their Strange Girls Dance project at Garvey / Simon was a wonderful bit of serendipity. They met at exactly the right time. Pancoast is the Assistant Director of Garvey Simon Gallery, but her real passion is dance. “She is a gifted dancer and choreographer,” says Stern.

Melissa Stern, Clay, wood, resin, paint. 34 x 12 x 7 inches. 2018 Continue reading “Strange Girls at Garvey Simon”

September 24, 2018May 30, 2020, by Etty Yaniv

Melissa Stern – Walking the Line

Melissa Stern‘s artworks depict abstracted narratives with complex emotional layers, projecting altogether an urgent psychological presence. The figures in her drawings and sculptures inhabit an absurd universe which is darkly funny in a deeply felt way. Her imagery is precise, poetic, and overall underscores a close affinity with language – bringing to mind an artist who is both an acute observer and a witty commentator. That said, it is Stern’s sensibility of raw and expressive forms that makes her not only an observant narrator but also an empathetic participant in her own human comedy. The artist shares with Art Spiel her modes of thinking, process of making, and some plans, including her solo show opening on Oct 11 at Garvey Simon Gallery.

Melissa Stern, Red Boots 30 x 8 x 10 inches, Clay, graphite, object, linoleum, 2016

Continue reading “Melissa Stern – Walking the Line”

June 24, 2018November 15, 2020, by Etty Yaniv

Elisa Soliven – Genesis of making in Clay

Elisa Soliven, Studio Portrait, Courtesy Maxim Ryazansky

Elisa Soliven is a sculptor, curator, and co-founder of the artist collective Underdonk. In her recent body of work, exhibited at the last SPRING/BREAK art show, Soliven experienced a turning point in her art. In our interview for ArtSpiel she elaborated on her process and shared some of the thought process behind her work. Continue reading “Elisa Soliven – Genesis of making in Clay”

February 4, 2015December 14, 2025, by Etty Yaniv

Duplicate Meanings: Finding What Is Lost at Storefront Ten Eyck

*Eros by Mie Yim, 2013; all photos by Etty Yaniv*

Typically, crowded openings are not an ideal setting for experiencing the artwork on display. Nevertheless, the current show at Storefront Ten Eyck, featuring Elise Siegel’s ceramic busts paired with Mie Yim’s abstracted figure paintings, thrives in a crowded space. As in a theatrical experience or a ritual ceremony, the visitors’ presence enhances the psychological tension that these artworks emit.

Continue reading “Duplicate Meanings: Finding What Is Lost at Storefront Ten Eyck”