"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

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of New York

Other Important Exhibitions in New York