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Indepth Arts News:
"Jacquelyn Schiffman: Sitting on Air"
2003-01-31 until 2003-03-02
Figureworks
Williamsburg, NY,
USA United States of America
Figureworks is pleased to be hosting a striking and unusual new body of
work by Jacquelyn Schiffman.
This new series of figurative work is done predominantly in wax and
acrylic on a semi-transparent, polyester, spun-web "canvas". Using paint
and wax on this spunbound material, in an encaustic approach, Ms.
Schiffman has produced stunning results. The figures take on an
abstracted, dream-like quality, not only due to the artist's hand, but
also by the magic of the material itself.
Ms. Schiffman entitled this show Sitting on Air. She says "Sitting on
air is tricky, you don‚t know if you're about to fly or to fall down."
Her figurative imagery is based on real people, some famous, some
familial, some models. These introspective figures carry a mystical
quality and it is intriguingly difficult to determine if they are elated
enough to take flight or perhaps just slump and drop from sight.
Regarding her materials, spunbound technology has been around since the
mid-l960s for use in the automotive, construction and medical fields. As
an art source, spunbounds are remarkable for their transparent, sensual
and archival qualities. To further assist in appreciating this unique
material, most of this work is mounted top and bottom on transparent,
hollow acrylic rods. Hanging like scrolls allows light through the piece
and in many cases, exposure to the back of this work is as intriguing as
the face.
Ms. Schiffman received her BA from the University of Michigan and her MS
from Southern Connecticut University. She has studied in Paris at the
Academie de la Grande Chaumiere and Academie de Notre Dame des Champs
and in NY at Hunter College, the New School, and the Art Students'
League. She has received numerous awards for her work including an
individual grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She has also
studied in Connecticut as the studio of Gerald Garston and the Studio of
Madeline Sharrer. She is influenced by the poupees of Marta Kuhn Weber
and Greer Lankton and the collages of Hannelore Baron.
IMAGE:
Jacquelyn Schiffman
Sitting on Air
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