Ep 26: Interview with Shari Mendelson

Pep Talks for Artists

Sculptor, Shari Mendelson joined me this week to discuss her work. Shari lives and works in Brooklyn and Upstate NY. She is represented in New York by Tibor de Nagy Gallery and has won many prestigious grants, including 4 NYFA-NYSCA Fellowship awards, a Pollock-Krasner grant and most recently a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2017.

She makes human & animal figures & vessels made up of cut-up plastic bottles that riff on stone, clay & glass forms from ancient antiquity. The resulting sculptures can look translucent like ancient glass in greens, grays, blues, whites & yellows -- and she often adds mica & resin to the surface to add a silvery or opaque finish to parts. They range in size from 12 to 36 in (aprx).

Shari's website and IG: www.sharimendelson.com and @sharimendelson

Current and Upcoming Exhibitions:

• The Renwick Gallery in WDC at The Smithsonian American Art Museum "This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World"
• Pamela Salisbury Gallery in Hudson, NY "Greetings and Offerings"
• Tibor de Nagy Gallery in NYC - Upcoming solo show 2023
• Jason Jacques Gallery in NYC "Smoke" a benefit for The Lost Prisoner Project

Shari's Favorite Museum Collections: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (esp. the Cesnola Cipriot Collection, Islamic Wing & The Study Collection on the mezzanine above the Leon Levy & Shelby White Court), Penn Museum, The British Museum, Naples National Archaeological Museum (Pompeii & Herculaneum collections)

Fun Links:
Review by Stephen Maine in Hyperallergic:
Ennion exhibit at the Met
Anasazi Pottery
Ancient Israeli Art
More about Votive Figurines
Artist mentions: Bill Traylor, Alberto Giacometti, Rick Briggs, Jill Levine, Ancient Syrian vessel maker: Ennion, Portia Munson, Jennifer Coates, Kiki Smith, Phoebe Helander, Morgan Gilbreath

Glue Talk™: Shari uses AdTech Crystal Clear Glue Sticks combined with a final coat of Magic-Sculpt resin

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Amy's website: https://www.amytalluto.com/
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