Mitzi Pederson
| Mitzi Pederson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976 Stuart, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | California College of the Arts |
| Occupation | Artist, sculptor |
Mitzi Pederson (born 1976) is an American artist specializing in abstract sculptural work. Pederson is known for her use of ordinary household, construction, and building materials to explore sculptural concepts of weight, tension, balance, and permanence. She is the recipient of a 2006 SECA Art Award. Pederson splits her time between San Francisco and Berlin.
Pederson was born in 1976 in Stuart, Florida. She has an M.F.A. in painting and drawing from the California College of the Arts, a B.F.A. in printing, painting, and drawing, along with a minor in architecture, from Carnegie Mellon University, and studied at L'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France.
Pederson uses everyday materials as the basis of her work, with an emphasis on the material of construction. She sources these materials from remnants of destruction, such as scrap heaps, as well as hardware stores and other retailers. Her sculptures have included cinderblocks, plywood, cellophane, fabric, tulle, wire, sand, glitter, and paint. The materials are often presented in a nearly-raw state, with light embellishment using ephemera such as gilding, tulle, and glitter.
Pederson began showing during her time at the California College of the Arts, appearing with regularity in gallery exhibitions at the institution and in galleries around the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2006, two years after completing her M.F.A. program, Pederson was announced as one of four recipients of the SECA Art Award from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
In 2008, Pederson's work was included in the Whitney Biennial, at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Both the SECA Award and the Whitney Biennial focus on emerging, lesser known contemporary artists; the Biennial has been described as "one of the most important surveys of the state of contemporary art in the United States." In 2008, art critic Glen Helfand included Pederson's exhibition "Unlet Me Go" as a selection in his top ten "exhibitions, events, and films" from 2007 based on "joy, originality, and serious subtext."
...
Wikipedia