Melissa Stern: Selected works, 2017-2024
As an artist who makes figurative ceramic and mixed media sculptures, I think constantly about the mechanics of the human body: Our weird, outsized torsos, balanced on two legs and tiny feet, asked to do so much each day. The balancing act it takes for us to walk, let alone run, dance, climb, or jump.
My design and engineering process undergoes continual evolution to accommodate my ideas and the materials I’m using. I work like a handyman, cobbling together drawings and sculptures from elements found, borrowed, and imagined. My sculptures are a constant balancing act, both their physical engineering and their marriage of disparate materials, objects, surfaces, and textures. I love the chameleon-like character of clay. Using a wide variety of surface techniques and finishes, I can make it look like almost anything, harmonizing with other found and fabricated materials.
My figures stand awkwardly balanced, like they may tumble at any moment, but they never do. Perhaps a metaphor for the way I move through my life as an artist or the world of flawed but delightful imbalance all around us.
Captions
- Fifth Grade, 2022, Clay, paint, steel, 48x72x11 in.
- Anthropology, 2017, Clay, wood, paper, objects, paint, 24x17x19.5 in.
- Bifocal, 2017, Wood, clay, oil paint, charcoal, 16 x 15 x 2 in.
- Coral Reef, 2023, Clay, resin, graphite, oil stick, 29x23x6 in.
- Dutch Shoes, 2018, Clay, metal, charcoal, graphite, object, 27×10.5×7.5 in.
- Housebound, 2020, Clay, wood, paint, 23x10x9 in.
- Funnel, 2021, Clay, ink, resin, rubber, wood, 27.5x12x5 in.
- Half Life, 2017, Clay, wood, paper, paint, oil stick, 13×13.5×3 in.
- Wig Shop, 2019, Clay, metal, rubber, wood, oil stick, ink, hair, 30.5×30.5×6.5 in.
- Buttress, 2023, Clay, steel, Formica, graphite, paint, paper, 18x26x11 in.
- Pearl, 2023, Clay, pearls, paint, object, 11x8x4 in.
- Couple, 2023, Clay, resin, paint, ink, wire, steel, 29x24x11 in.
- Calppello Verde, 2023, Clay, wood, encaustic, paint, paper, 43x11x17 in.
- Time Out, 2023, Clay, wood, encaustic, glass, aluminum, ink, wood, 35x18x10.5 in.
- New Boyfriend, 2023, Clay, wax, paint, wood, 19x8x7 in.
- Fishnets, 2024, Clay, ink, paint, fishnets, 29x21x4 in.
- Ribcage, 2024, Resin, steel, copper, wood, paint, fabric, paper, 30x11x7.5 in.
- Topiary, 2024, Clay, resin, wood, plexi, paint, plastic, oil stick, steel, 31x17x9 in.
- Headstand, 2024, Clay, resin, paint, 36x6x15 in.
- Daydream, 2024, Resin, wood, paint, 19x9x7 in.
- Brothers 20, 2024, Clay, paint, graphite, wood, encaustic, steel, 25x12x6.5 in.
- Guston’s Shoe, 2024, Clay, resin, paint, steel, object, 44x17x15 in.
