SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

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.

2001
Ballard Featherston Gallery, Seattle, WA
THIRD GRADE, John Elder Gallery, NY, NY

2000
Bachelier-Cardonsky, Kent, CT

1999
David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN

1997
DRAWINGS - Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA

1996
Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT

1995
Mia Gallery, Seattle WA

1994
Diana Burke Gallery, NY, NY

1993
Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA

1990
Art Rages, Amsterdam, Netherlands                                                                      

1988
Primitivo Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1986
HOMESITES, Arts Council of San Mateo County, Belmont, CA
CHAIRS, Clodagh, Ross, Williams Gallery, NY, NY
CHAIRS, San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, CA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2007
RED- Curated by Richard Notkin. Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
THE INNER CHILD- The Hunterdon Museum of Art, Hunterdon, NJ
COLLAGE- LAYERING SPACE,RESTRUCTURING TIME - The Kleinart Art Center, Woodstock, NY

2006
FIGURATIONS Sopa Gallery, Kelona, BC, Canada
MOTHERHOOD: THE MYTH, THE MAGIC, THE MADNESS'- curated By Leslie Matthews. Design for Living Gallery, Phila. PA. 'BODIES OF CLAY/AM I WEIRD??' Co-curated by Nel Bannier and Atsumi Fujita, Multnomah Arts Center, Portland, OR

2005
'NEW TALENT 2005', Co-curated by the Museum of Ceramic Art New York (MOCA/NY) and WEISSPOLLACK Gallery. NY, NY
3 RD WORLD CERAMICS BIENNALE 2005, Ceramics: The Vehicle of Culture, invitational exhibition, Icheon, Korea  (Catalogue)

2004
PULP FICTION, bahduP bahdee, Phila. PA

2003
ENCAUSTIC 2003, juried exhibition, Poughkeepsie, NY (Catalogue)

2002
PUSHING CLAY, Univ of Southern Maine. Portland, Maine

2001
R&F ENCAUSTICS JURIED BIENNIAL - Kingston, NY (Catalogue)

1999
LOOKING IN THE MIRROR - Riley Hawk Galleries, Cleveland, OH Spring

1998
NEW TALENT, John Elder Gallery, NY, NY
Ballard Featherstone Gallery, Seattle, WA

1996
INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS, The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA

1995
NEW YORK CLAY - Traveling exhibition, Stavanger, Norway

1994
VIEWPOINTS, Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT
NEW GENERATION, Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY

1993
SMALL SCALE SCULPTURE - Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
HEADS OR TAILS - Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA

1992
THE NEW YORK FOUR, Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT
CHAIRS, Gallery of Functional Art, Santa Monica, CA
FIGURATIVE CERAMICS, Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA

1991
AND ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE, Gallery of Functional Art, Santa Monica, 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 FIGURE REDEFINED, Primitivo Gallery, San Francisco, CA
EAST MEETS WEST INVITATIONAL, Contemp. Crafts Gallery, Portland, OR
THE AESTHETIC EDGE, Corvalis Art Center, Corvallis, OR
IMAGINARY LANDSCAPES, Primitivo Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1987
VIEWING THE FIGURE, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
FIGURATIVE CERAMICS, The Lawrence Gallery, Portland, OR

1986
INAUGURAL EXHIBITION, Clodagh, Ross, Williams Gallery, NY, NY

1985
SAN FRANCISCO FINE ARTS COMMISSION JURIED EXHIBITION, San Francisco, CA

1984
INTROSPECTIVES - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WORK BY WOMEN - Pyramid Art Center, Rochester, NY

1983
SMALL WORKS NATIONAL, Zaner Gallery, Rochester, NY
THE AMERICAN CLAY NATIONAL, Downey Museum of Art, Downey, CA

PUBLICATIONS

Review of BIRDLAND- The Memphis Commercial Appeal, Friday April 21, 2006
BIRDLAND- Catalogue published in conjunction with the exhibition. David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN 2006
TRANS-CERAMIC-ART – Catalogue of The 3 rd World Ceramic Biennale 2005. 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 NY, NY, Winter 2003
CERAMIC FIGURES - by Michael Flynn, Rutgers Univ. Press - New Jersey 2002
FORM & TRANS-FORMATIONS - by Judith Schwartz, catalogue. Queens, NY 1997
NEW YORK CLAY - essay by Judith Schwartz, exhibition catalogue, Rogaland Kunstnersenter, Rogaland, Norway 1996
THE NEW YORK TIMES - Review - Sunday, Dec. 15, 1996
CHAIRMANIA - FANTASTIC MINIATURES by George Beylarian, Harry Abrams pub. New York, NY - 1994
DAN'S PAPER - Review - Bridgehampton, NY - May 20, 1994
EAST HAMPTON INDEPENDENT - Review - May 22, 1994
THE NEW YORK TIMES - Review - Sunday, August 2, 1992
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN ART CRAFT - A COLLECTOR'S GUIDE – by 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, The Serenbe Institute, Seren\be Ga, 2007
ADVISORY BOARD- Madison Park Conservancy, NY, NY- current
ADVISORY BOARD- Greenwich House Pottery, NY, NY- current
ADVISORY BOARD- The Children's Museum of the Arts. NY, NY. - Current
2001- SPONSORS AWARD R&F HANDMADE PAINT JURIED EXHITION
1990 AND 1994 KOHLER FOUNDATION GRANT - Artist-in-Residence Kohler Company, Sheboygan, WI

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

The Arario Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Bear Stearns & Co. New York, N.Y.
Dow Jones & Co Inc, New York, NY
Davison Collection, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
The Arkansas Art Center
Stavenger Museum, Stavenger Norway
The Metropolitan Home Magazine Design Collection, NY, NY
The Kohler Company Collection, Sheboygan, WI
Designtex, NY, NY
George Beylerian, New York, NY
Judith & Martin Schwartz, New York, NY
Mr. & Mrs. James Ottaway, Jr., NY, NY
Gail & Robert Brown, Philadelphia, PA
Mark & Elizabeth Levine, New York, N.Y.
Marc & Diane Grainer, Washington, D.C.
Leland and Marion Zeidler, Santa Cruz, CA
Kathleen O'Grady, New York, N.Y.
Mr. Bill Joy, Palo Alto, CA.
David and Clemmer Monteque, Washington, DC
Mr. & Mrs. John Sells, Palm Springs, CA
Ann and Paul Karlstrom, San Francisco    

EDUCATION

1976-1980 BA Anthropology and Studio Art Cum Laude with Honors in Anthropology Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut
1982-1984 MFA Ceramics State University of New York at New Paltz

ARTIST STATEMENT

I work like a handyman cobbling together drawings and sculptures from elements found, borrowed, imagined and stolen. I use a wide range of materials from encaustic to clay, pastel to steel. The drawings and sculptures, often made in tandem, resonate between one another, the ideas in one reinforcing the themes of the other.

All of my pieces share a thematic thread. Sexless and goofy my figures live in a dream world, cower in relationships or stand tall in the face of adversity. They are at once dark and funny, expressive of the absurd world around us. The work is rooted in childhood memory. These memories are both funny and scary, child-like but quite serious. We are shaped by childhood and these memories chase us throughout our lives.

Each work is a fragment of a story rather than its full text. I never 'write' the endings; each viewer completes the script, bringing their own history, memories and feelings to finish the piece.

Melissa Stern 2006