Pleuro | 2016, bronze, 115" x 76" x 76"
Pointing Palm | 2013, bronze, 98" x 42" x 43"
Shiners | 2009, bronze, 85" x 40" x 28"
Hackles | 2013, bronze, 26" x 17" x 14"
 Plantar Opuntia | 2015, bronze, 24" x 27" x 18"
Ellen/Carsten | 2014, bronze, 12" x 12" x 11"
Ken and Doug | 2015, bronze, 25" x 13" x 10"
Genus Georgeus | 2015, bronze, 17" x 19" x 17"
Hand Plant 11 | 2003, bronze, 98" x 42" x 33"
No items found.
X
Reflection 15 | 2015, monotype, 40" x 15"
Reflection 16 | 2015, monotype, 40" x 15"
Reflection 23 | 2015, monotype, 20" x 32"
Tara 66 | 2015, monotype, 20" x 16"
Tara 56 | 2015, monotype, 20" x 16"
Tara 57 | 2015, monotype, 20" x 16"
No items found.
X
Hand Plant 7 | 2002, bronze, 108" x 60" x 48"
Blue Fingers | 2012, bronze 22” x 17” x 15”
Perch | 2012, bronze, 14”x 9” x 3”
Azeez Maquette | 2003, bronze, 16” x 13” x 2”
View | 2010, bronze, 23” x 19” x 18”
Hand Plant 14 | 2010, bronze, 32” x 27” x 21”
 Reflection 6 | 2013, monotype, 40” x 15”
Reflection 7 | 2014, monotype, 40” x 16”
Tara 36 | 2013, monotype, 20" x 16"
Tara 38 | 2014, monotype, 20” x 14”
Tara 39 | 2014, monotype, 20” x 16”
 Tara 35 | 2013, monotype, 30” x 22”
No items found.
X
No items found.
X
No items found.
X
No items found.
X
No items found.
X

Member Portfolio

Gina Michaels

Philadelphia, PA

Résumé

Artist Statement

My sculpture fuses the forms and gestures of humans and the botanical world, embodying the living energy we share. A hand is a leaf, or the earth itself. Fingers are petals that invite close inspection, but might poke the viewer in the eye. Are they lovingly cultivated hybrids, or random and disturbing mutations?
Hand Plants range from houseplants to public work. Sometimes diminutive human and animal forms relate with the plants, creating a more narrative, mythic dimension. There is also a series of double portraits. Referencing floral bouquets, they explore the dynamics of intimate relationships.
I work with bronze directly, liberating it from the dutiful role of replication. I work in a sandbox. Hands, arms, and feet press into casting sand, imprinting the expressive energy of the body into the mold. I then ladle molten bronze into the hollows created by the body. Using a spontaneous, collage-like vocabulary, I weld the cast elements together.
My monotypes are created in the same improvisational spirit, in collaboration with the natural world. Using plants from my garden as stencils and graphic elements, I improvise layer upon layer. Just as my body imprints its energy in casting sand, the plants imprint theirs on paper.

Education

1993 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
MFA
1976 - 1978
New York Studio School, New York, NY
1976
Oberlin College, Oberlin OH
BA, Art & Art History
1975
Apprenticeship with sculptor Joel Shapiro, New York, NY

Awards & Honors

2011
New Courtland Artist Fellowship, Philadelphia, PA
2008
Fellowship, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA
2005, 2006
Artist in Residence, Woodrow Wilson Middle School, Philadelphia, PA
2005
Finalist, Southeastern PA Transit Authority gate project
2004
Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson VT

Bibliography

2015
Lauren Lipton, “Positively Philadelphia: Young Artists Transforming Local Neighborhoods,” CBS Philly, February 23, 2015
2013
Mabaso, Alaina, “Northwest Philadelphia Art Studios…,” WHYY/Newsworks, October 18, 2013
2011
Gaudini, Michael and Bianca Brown, “An Artist with a Heart of Bronze,” Philadelphia Neighborhoods, December 23, 2011
Ballou, Nancy “Gina Michaels: Creating Airy Collage-like Bronze Sculptures,” Copper in the Arts, Issue # 52, August 2011
2007
Zaleski, Leigh “Philly Artists Open Their Doors,” Philadelphia Daily News, October 19, 2007
2006
Price Lee, Mary “New Northwest Artists Collective,” October 5, 2006
2003
Donlan, Francesca “Sculptural Beauty,” The Desert Sun, February 2, 2003
2002
Sozanski, Edward J. “Outdoor Artwork Aims for a Natural Fit,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 22, 2002
Roberta Fallon, “Sticks and Stones,” Philadelphia Weekly, July 10, 2002
Wasserman, Burton “Art in the Environment,” Art Matters, September, 2002
1998
Lucas Wayne, Renee “The Art of Womanhood,” Philadelphia Daily News, November 16, 1998

Exhibitions

Solo
2015
Bower, Imperfect Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2014
Spirit Space, Spring Hill Design, Chadds Ford, PA
Collaboration with Michael E. Lane, LA
2013
Out of Hand, Imperfect Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2012
Hybrids, Community Arts Center Sculpture Garden, Wallingford, PA
Contemplations, Cosmopolitan Club, Philadelphia, PA
2011
Improvisational Botany, Briar Bush Nature Center, Abington, PA
2010
Contemplating Nature, Harrisburg Area Community College, Lancaster, PA
Curator: Judith Johnson
2009
Pouring Out My Heart (in bronze), Keystone Center for Arts & Culture, Lancaster, PA
2005
Genesis, Projects Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2004
Climbing Jacob’s Ladder, Gratz College, Melrose Park, PA
2002
Hand Plants & Impressions, Paula Barr Chelsea, New York, NY
1999
Impressions, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY
1996
I Never Heard of Such a Thing, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY
1993
Small Bronzes, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY

Group
2018
Vibrant Affects, Kimmel Cancer Center, Jefferson Hospital, Philadelphia PA curator: Mat Tomezsko for Revolvd
International Variety, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia PA
2017
Metal AD: Strategies in Foundry, University of the Arts, Philadelphia PA
2016
Branching Out, Lieberman Gallery of Allen’s Lane Art Center, Philadelphia PA
2015
Buddhism in Contemporary Art, LaSalle University Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Reflections, Engagement Studios, Philadelphia, PA,
Curator: Mat Tomezko
All That’s Jazz, Art Gallery at City Hall, Philadelphia, PA
Juror: Richard J. Watson
2014
Artist Council Exhibition, Palm Springs Museum, Palm Springs, CA
Juror: Donna MacMillian
Ceres At 30, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY
Paper Work,Trenton City Museum, Trenton, NJ
Curators: Elise Mannella and Gabriel Romeu
On the Ground: Four Corners Art Exhibition, The Painted Bride, Philadelphia, PA
2013
A Fine Line, Bucks County Community College, Newtown, PA
Curator: Joan Menapace
A Celebration of Art and Life, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
2012
Art is Ageless, New Courtland & Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA
There’s Something About Germantown, Imperfect Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2009
In Your Dreams, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA
2007
Parallel Worlds, Paula Barr Chelsea, New York, NY
Curator: Myriam Rotzetter
2006
Metals and More, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA
Curator: Charles Burwell
2005
Art Miami, represented by Projects Gallery, Miami, FL
2004
From the Studio, CFEVA, Philadelphia, PA
Curator: Katherine Ware, Philadelphia Museum of Art
2003
Palm Desert Art Works, outdoor exhibition, Palm Desert, CA
Curator: John Nagus
2002
Crossing the Line, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA
Juror: Paul Hubbard
2000
Philadelphia…2000, outdoor exhibition, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
1999
Ceres at Fifteen, Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn, NY
1998
A Sense of Self, Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Sculptors, Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ
1997
Art and Faith, Wagman Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
1996
Closed & Open Form, NY Studio School, New York, NY
Curator: Michael Brenson
1994
Figuratively Speaking, Hurlbutt Gallery, Greenwich, CT
1992
Ceres on Broadway, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY
1989
On the Move, Metropolitan Transit Authority, New York, NY
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