Shari Mendelson

Shari Mendelson (born 1961, Schenectady, New York)^[1][2] is an American artist and educator, known for her sculptures of animals, fertility figures, and vessels made of recycled plastic materials. She is based in Brooklyn and upstate New York in the Catskills.^[3][4]

Shari Mendelson
Born	1961 (age 62–63) United States
Alma mater	Arizona State University, State University of New York at New Paltz
Known for	Sculpture

About

Shari Mendelson has a BFA degree from Arizona State University.^[3] She has a MFA degree from State University of New York at New Paltz, graduating in 1968.^[3]

Her work is reminiscent of ancient-appearing antiquities and figurines made of intricate glass, however her work is all newly made from used plastic trash, acrylic resin, hot glue, and various other materials.^[5][6][7] She started creating this body of work in 2009.^[8] Mendelson would collect plastic bottles from her friends and family, as well as foraging for the prized bottles in the early mornings in Williamsburg.^[4]

Mendelson's art addresses issues of history, culture, environmental awareness, and consumerism.^[9] Her work visually references ancient Assyrian, Babylonian, Sasanian, Roman cultural art forms.^[10][7]

She is a lecturer at Parsons School of Design^[2] and has additionally taught at Pratt Institute, the University of the Arts, and the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).^[3]

In 2015, Mendelson was an artist in residency at Corning Museum of Glass.^[8] In 2017, she was awarded the Guggenheim fellowship in fine arts by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.^[3][11] In 2019, Mendelson was awarded a MacDowell Colony fellowship.^[12]

Her work is in various public museum collections including the Rhode Island School of Design Museum,^[13] Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,^[14] among others. Her piece, Animal with Caged Vessel, was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Renwick Gallery's 50th Anniversary Campaign.^[1]

References

1. Savig, Mary; Atkinson, Nora; Montiel, Anya (2022). This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World. Washington, DC: Smithsonian American Art Museum. pp. 228–238. ISBN 9781913875268.
2. "Shari Mendelson: Glasslike". UrbanGlass. 2020-05-16. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
3. "Shari Mendelson". John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
4. Green, Penelope (2010-06-23). "Talking With Shari Mendelson". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
5. "Mendelson Converts Plastic into Art". Town Topics. Princeton, New Jersey: Witherspoon Media Group. May 22, 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
6. "Shari Mendelson: Message in a Bottle". Hyperallergic. 2016-12-24. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
7. "Through the Eyes of an Artist". Hamilton College. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
8. "Behind the Glass: Freezing Time and Recreating the Past: April Artists-in-Residence". The Corning Museum of Glass. 2015-04-21. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
9. "A Chat With Brooklyn Sculptor Shari Mendelson in the Latest Brooklyn Made". Viewing NYC. 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
10. Shales, Ezra (2017). The Shape of Craft. Reaktion Books. ISBN 9781780238845.
11. Greenberger, Alex (2017-04-07). "Guggenheim Foundation Announces 2017 Fellows, Including Byron Kim, Kay Rosen, and Leigh Ledare". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
12. "Shari Mendelson - Artist". MacDowell Colony. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
13. "Round Blue/Green Vessel". RISD Museum. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
14. "Collections: After a Syrian Bottle". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 2020-05-17.