JUNE 12–JULY 11
MELISSA STERN: STRONGER THAN DIRT
A 20 Year Retrospective
ARTIST RECEPTION
SATURDAY JUNE 12, 5-7PM
MASKS + DISTANCING
ARTIST STATEMENT
When I was a kid I watched a lot of TV. I loved the ads as much as the shows. There are jingles still stuck in my head. I’ll always remember Ajax because it was “Stronger Than Dirt! ” I loved and hated these commercials that featured hardscrabble gals at war with household grease, grime and soap scum, the wrongdoing of their filthy, feral children and their hapless, slob husbands. Women were workhorses who lived to make the world clean. I wanted to make a mess, not spend my life cleaning them up.
And so I did. “Stronger Than Dirt” features 20 years of mess-making. A dust-busting, back-breaking battle of wits between me, a blank sheet of paper and a bucket of wet clay. I’ve made a home for my people, real and created. The push and pull of relationships. The beauty, flotsam and jetsam of culture writ small.
This is work from the mean streets of Manhattan to the dirt roads of the Catskills. Welcome to my brain. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry- It’s better than Cats.
But as for me…I may be bent, but never broken. I’m stronger than dirt.
–Melissa Stern May 2021
CV
MELISSA A. STERN
143 West 20th NY, NY 10011
m@melissa-stern.com
http://thetalkingcureproject.com
http://speakingintongues.melissa-stern.com/
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 Stronger Than Dirt- Lockwood Gallery, Kingston, NY
2020 Does She Or Doesn’t She?- Firecat Projects. Chicago, IL.
2018 Strange Girls – Garvey Simon, NY, NY
The Talking Cure - Kranzberg Center For Contemporary Art.
2017 You’re Soaking In It - Station Independent Projects, NY, NY
2016 The Talking Cure - The Weisman Art Museum. Minn. MN
Loose Lips - The Univ. Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.
The Talking Cure - Redux Contemporary Art Center, Charleston, SC
2015 The Talking Cure - Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
2014 A Year In Pictures - Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, Canada
The Talking Cure - Akron Museum Of Art, Akron Ohio.
2012 The Talking Cure - Smart Clothes Gallery, NY, NY (Catalogue)
The Talking Cure - Fetherston Gallery, Seattle, WA.
2011 New Math- Drawings - Fetherston Gallery, Seattle, WA
Life During Wartime – Heads - Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, GA.
New Sculpture - Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, Canada
2009 Step Right Up - Bahdeebahdu Gallery, Philadelphia PA
Coming Up For Air - Fetherston Gallery, Seattle WA
Loose Lips - Drawing Exhibition - Milsaps College, Jackson, MS
2008 A Common Space - Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2007 Above The Belt - Studioswan, Atlanta, GA
Family Values - Gallery 31 North, Glen Gardner, NJ
2006 Loose Lips - Drawing Exhibition - Zihlka Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Birdland - David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN
2005 Family Values - Weisspollack Gallery, NY, NY
2003 Vacation - Spike Gallery, NY, NY
My Friends - David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN
2002 Back To School - The Children’s Museum Of The Arts, NY, NY (Catalogue)
2001 New Work - Ballard Fetherston Gallery, Seattle, WA
Third Grade - John Elder Gallery, NY, NY
2000 New Work - Bachelier-Cardonsky, Kent, CT
1999 Wax Works - David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN
1997 Drawings - Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA
1996 New Sculpture - Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT
1995 Drawings - Mia Gallery, Seattle WA
1994 Small Sculpture - Diana Burke Gallery, NY, NY
1993 Friends - Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA
1990 Chairs - Artrages, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1988 New Work - Primitivo Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1986 Homesites - Arts Council Of San Mateo County, Belmont, CA
Chairs - Clodagh, Ross, Williams Gallery, NY, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020 Claytopian New York- Plaxall Art Center, Lic, NY
Domestic Brutes- The Pelham Art Center. Pelham, NY
2019 The Impolite Aesthetic- Joseloff Gallery, Univ. Of Hartford. Hartford, CT.
Be Mine- Labspace, Hillsadle, NY
Domestic Matters -Peter’s Valley Art Center, New Jersey
2018 Pop Goes The Weasel - Williamsburg Art And Historical Center, NY, NY
The Big Small Show - Drawing Rooms. Jersey City, NJ
2017 We The People - Serving Notice - The American Museum Of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA
2016 Talk Talk - Central Booking Gallery, NY, NY
2016 Cognitive Dissonance - Spartanburg Museum Of Art, Spartanburg, SC
2015 Money, Wheels And Random Legs - Firecat Projects, Chicago, IL
2014 Psyched - Central Booking Gallery, NY, NY
Compulsive Narratives - Rutgers Univ., Camden, NJ
2013 Gallery Artists - Archangel Gallery, Palm Springs, CA
2011 Naming The Animals - Curious Matter, Jersey City, NJ
Retrofutureology - Observatory, Brooklyn, NY
2010 Paradiso Contrapasto - Observatory, Brooklyn, NY
Pillow Culture - Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY
2009 The Sketchbook Project, Traveling Exhibition - Arthouse, Atlanta, GA
2008 Confrontational Ceramics - Curated By Judith Schwartz, Westchester Arts Council, Westchester, Ny
2007 Forms Of Opulence - Allen Gallery, NY, NY
Have A Seat! - Beylerian Collection Of Small Chairs - The Museum Of Art And Design, NY, NY
Red - Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
The Inner Child - The Hunterdon Museum Of Art, Hunterdon, NJ
2006 Figurations - Sopa Gallery, Kelowna, Canada
Motherhood: The Myth, The Magic, The Madness - Curated
By Leslie Matthews, Design For Living Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2005 New Talent 2005 - Co-Curated By The Museum Of Ceramic Art, New York (MOCA/NY), And
Weispollack Gallery, NY, NY
3Rd World Ceramics Biennale 2005 - Ceramics: The Vehicle Of Culture -
Invitational Exhibition, Icheon, Korea (Catalogue)
2004 Pulp Fiction - Bahdeebahdu Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2003 Encaustic 2003 - Juried Exhibition, Poughkeepsie, NY (Catalogue)
2002 Pushing Clay - Univ. Of Southern Maine, Portland, ME
2001 R&F Encaustics - Juried Biennial - Kingston, Ny (Catalogue)
1998 New Talent - John Elder Gallery, NY, NY
1996 Intimate Conversations - The Society Of Arts And Crafts, Boston, MA
1995 New York Clay - Traveling Exhibition, Stavanger, Norway (Catalogue)
1994 Viewpoints - Bachelier Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT
New Generation - Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
1993 Heads Or Tails - Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA
1992 Chairs - Gallery Of Functional Art, Santa Monica, CA
Figurative Ceramics - Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA
1991 And All Through The House - Gallery Of Functional Art, La, CA
1990 Signs Of Support - Furniture Forms In Contemporary Art -
John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI
1988 Artist's Furniture Invitational - Wita Gardiner Gallery, San Diego, CA
The Aesthetic Edge - Corvalis Art Center, Corvallis, OR
Imaginary Landscapes - Primitivo Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1987 Viewing The Figure - University Of Idaho, Moscow, ID
1986 Inaugural Exhibition - Clodagh, Ross, Williams Gallery, NY, NY
1984 Introspectives - Autobiographical Work By Women - Pyramid Art Center, Rochester, Ny
1983 The American Clay National - Downey Museum Of Art, Downey, Ca
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS/REVIEWS
- Newcity Art-Visual Art Of Chicago. January 2021. View
- Hec Tv - A Visual Portrait Of The Artist. St. Louis, January 2018. View
- Nationally Acclaimed Multimedia Installation "The Talking Cure”, St. Louis Post Dispatch. January 2018
- “The Talking Cure” Invites Audiences To Become Part Of The Artistic Process - St. Louis Magazine,
Jan. 2018
- Talking Cure, Talking Heads - Minnesota Daily, September 7, 2016
- Melissa Stern’s “The Talking Cure’ - South Carolina Public Radio, By Jeanette Guinn, June 21, 2016
- Redux's Current Exhibition "The Talking Cure” Is Multifaceted - Charleston City Paper By Connelly
Hardeway, July 15, 2016
- The Talking Cure At Redux Contemporary Art Center - Arts Daily, May 2016
- The Talking Cure: 12 Sculptures, 12 Writers, 12 Actors - Charleston Art Magazine By Marjorie Rawle,
May 2016
- Money, Wheels And Random Legs - The Chicago Tribune, Oct. 15, 2015
- Sculptor Invites Writers To Tell The Stories Of Her Works At Real Art Ways - The Hartford Courant
Review, March 5, 2015
- Don’t Miss: Figures Of Speech - The Wall Street Journal, May 30, 2014
- Melissa Stern: Off Balance Art - Feature Article, Wesleyan University Alumni Magazine, Fall 2013
- Artnews - Review Of The Talking Cure Exhibition, January 2013
- New York Arts: The Talking Cure - Interview With Leah Oates, February 2013
- The Talking Cure - Catalogue Of The Exhibition, 2012
- Art For The Eyes And Ears: Melissa Stern's "The Talking Cure" In New York - Dujour.Com, December 2012
- New York Arts - Nostalgic Confessions: Drawings By Melissa Stern, February 2009
- American Illustration 26: The Best American Illustrations Of 2007, November 2007
- Review Of Birdland - The Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 21, 2006
- Birdland - Catalogue Published In Conjunction With The Exhibition, David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, Tn 2006
- Clay In Art International - Published By Kerameiki Techni, Athens, Greece, 2006
- Trans-Ceramic-Art - Catalogue Of The 3Rd World Ceramic Biennale, Published By Icheon World Ceramic
Center, Icheon, Korea, 2005
- 500 Figures In Clay - By Veronika Gunter, Lark Books, Ashville, NC, 2004
- Back To School - Catalogue Essay By Paul Karlstrom, Published By The Children's Museum Of The Arts,
New York, NY, Winter 2003
- Ceramic Figures - By Michael Flynn, Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, 2002
- Form & Trans-Formations - Catalogue By Judith Schwartz, Queens, NY, 1997
- New York Clay - Essay By Judith Schwartz, Exhibition Catalogue, Rogaland Kunstnersenter, Norway, 1996
- The New York Times - Sunday Review, December 15, 1996
- Chairmania - Fantastic Miniatures By George Beylarian, Harry Abrams Pub.,
New York, NY, 1994
- Dan's Paper - Review, Bridgehampton, New York, May 20, 1994
- East Hampton Independent - Review, May 22, 1994
- The New York Times - Sunday Review, August 2, 1992
- Contemporary American Art Craft: A Collector's Guide - Barbara Mayer, Peregrine Smith Books, Salt
Lake City, UT, 1988
- Pronto - Cover Photograph And Article, Vol. 4-5, Tokyo, Japan, 1988
- Ars Aurea - Magazine Article, Berlin, Germany, Winter 1988
GRANTS/AWARDS
- Awarded Artist Residency - Benyamini Center For Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2014
- Awarded Artist Residency - The Washington School Of Glass, Washington, DC, 2011
- Awarded Artist Residency - The Serenbe Institute, Serenbe, GA, 2007
- Sponsors Award: R& F Handmade Paint Juried Exhibition, 2001
- Kohler Foundation Grant: Artist-In-Residence - Kohler Company, Sheboygan, WI, 1988 And 1990
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Racine Art Museum Racine, WI
The Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN
International Center For Collage, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
Library Of Congress: Rare Books And Special Collections, Washington, DC
Museum Of Art And Design, New York, NY
The Arario Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Bear Stearns & Co. New York, NY
News Corp Inc, New York, NY
Davison Collection, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
The Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, A
Stavenger Museum, Stavenger, Norway
The Metropolitan Home Magazine Design Collection, New York, NY
The Kohler Company Collection, Sheboygan, WI
Designtex, New York, NY
EDUCATION
1976-1980 BA Anthropology And Studio Art, Cum Laude With Honors In Anthropology, Wesleyan
University, Middletown, Ct
1982-1984 MFA Ceramics, State University Of New York, New Paltz, Ny