Jackie Shatz is a sculptor who approaches her work with the mindset of a painter. She envisions her wall sculptures as paintings that expand into the surrounding space, while simultaneously compressing and containing figures and fragments. Her imagery often evokes swimming, floating, or "on the verge of" gestures, suggesting anticipation, hesitation, anxiety, or relief. Her latest work marks a shift from clearly defined human forms to figures in the process of transforming into more ambiguous beings. The scale of her sculptures reflects the influence of both classical and contemporary art, with hidden meanings akin to those found in dreams.

Shatz uses a range of materials in her sculptures, including ceramic, paper, bronze, and collage. Her process often begins with a figure drawn from a contemporary or historical painting, which serves as the foundation. This selection and formation are driven by a subconscious yet connected stream of thought. Transforming a two-dimensional drawing into a three-dimensional clay piece is a crucial step in her creative process. The finished work is often painted, combined with other objects, and further modified. She frequently incorporates older, discarded pieces into new creations, embodying a fluid process where "it's not over till it’s over."

Shatz has received numerous honors, including a Gottlieb Foundation Grant, a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, and a Tree of Life Grant. She also completed a collaborative residency at the Kohler Arts/Industry Program. Her work has been exhibited at various galleries, including Tappeto Valente (Brooklyn), Susan Eley Gallery (Hudson & NYC), LaiSun Keane Gallery (Boston), Zurcher Gallery (NYC), Marquis Projects (Bellport, Long Island), The Dorsky Museum (New Paltz, NY), Garrison Art Center, TygerTyger Gallery (Asheville), and Carter Burden Gallery (NYC).

In addition to her art practice, Shatz is an independent curator. She has curated exhibitions at The Art Center (St. Petersburg), Hampden Gallery (U. Mass Amherst), Freedman Gallery (Albright College), Henry Street Settlement, Tappeto Valente (co-curated with Celeste Morton), Garner Arts (co-curated with Robert Egert), Governors Island, and The Green Door Gallery in Brooklyn. She has collaborated on installations at Wave Hill, the Morris Museum (Morristown, NJ), and Governors Island. Her large-scale outdoor sculptures have been featured at Columbus Circle (NYC) and in front of Henry Street Settlement.

Shatz’s work has been exhibited widely in the New York metropolitan area and beyond, with a particular affinity for alternative and artist-run spaces. Her work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Art News, The Village Voice, Room (A Sketchbook for Analytic Action), Mieke Bal, "How to Say It? Symbiosis as Inter-Ship" In Symbiotic Posthumanist Ecologies in Western Literature, Philosophy, and Art. Towards Theory and Practice edited by Peggy Karpouzou and Nikoleta Zampaki, published by Peter Lang, 2023, pp. 79-98.

While initially focused on human figures, the artist has recently shifted to more abstract and ambiguous forms, featuring dreamlike and suggestive elements inspired by classical and contemporary art. She reinterprets symbols of the past related to historical and natural forces to create contemporary sculptural archetypes, building bridges between historical art icons and contemporary relevance while suggesting transformation, anthropomorphism, and myth.

Using various materials such as ceramic, paper, bronze, and collage, she reinterprets figures originating from paintings in clay, adds color, and combines them with various objects to complete her works. Sometimes she adds new elements to past works, enjoying the continuously evolving creative process itself.

This exhibition features 13 ceramic-based wall sculptures, including a bronze piece, depicting animals, plants, and human forms. Through unique forms and textures, viewers will experience compelling narratives and sensory interactions.

"My wall sculptures involve suspended states of being and the permeable nature of time. The images of swimming, floating and "about to" gestures imply anticipation, hesitancy, anxiety or relief from anxiety. I did not set out to express specific qualities - they emerged from the selection of the figures and the creation of the pieces themselves. The meanings are hidden like the meanings in dreams.

These works ride the edge between painting and sculpture; between stillness and movement; between the figurative and the abstract. The dimensions of the sculptures allow one to look into an intimate space; they owe a debt to the scale and narratives of Medieval art.

These sculptures are part of a continuing series of reimagining symbols of the past about forces of history and nature and creating contemporary sculptural archetypes. They forge a bridge between past icons of art by reimagining them as icons with contemporary relevance. Ideas of transformation, anthropomorphism and myth are implied."

- Jackie Shatz

To learn more about artist Jackie Shatz, please visit www.jacquelineshatz.com.