Life Span: A 60-Year Retrospective

March 2 - March 12

Opening reception on Thursday, March 2 from 6-9:30PM. The show will be on view to the public through March 12 (Wednesdays through Sundays, 11AM-6PM, and evenings Thursdays through Saturdays).

NYC-based sculptor Joan Fine opens a sprawling show, displaying artwork spanning six decades and showcasing her wide-ranging body of work, from large stone carvings to intricate, whimsical paper-mache characters. Fine’s work combines masterful command with a child-like playfulness. Fine’s vision draws inspiration from biomorphic shapes reminiscent of living or once living things, culminating in the exhibition's multiple series. Lifespan reflects her abiding appreciation of nature, and the urgency of artistic expression (at 81, she continues to sculpt every day).

Background:

Native New Yorker, and matriarch to multiple generations of artists, Fine’s fascination with art began in her childhood. As a young art student, she worked for her aunt, the renowned New York City gallerist, Rose Fried (Pinacotheca, Rose Fried Gallery). She went on to study and teach art; attending Saint Martin’s School of Art in London and Columbia University’s MFA program.

Attracted to the unyielding quality of stone, Fine began as a stone carver. “I was one of the very few women artists working with that material in the seventies. You take this rough block, weighing around 250 pounds, and in the end it’s going to be this sensuous thing, but the process took forever. Maybe it has to do with showing you can do anything in spite of your small size.” She later explored materials including bronze, plaster, wire, wood and found objects.

Fine’s sculptures have been widely shown in group and solo exhibitions throughout New York and New Jersey (including the New York Botanical Gardens, Jersey City Museum, Lever House, New Jersey State Museum, Jan Weiss Gallery, Tria Gallery, 14 Sculptors’ Gallery, Marymount Manhattan College Gallery, among others.