Norman Mercer

“Amethyst Acrylic Sculpture”

Circa 1990

Original hand cast bronze dual figure of a hollow dressed torso of a male and female representing Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The bronze sculpture is attributed to the American sculptor Judith Shea. This piece is a maquette for a life size bronze executed by this artist that is located in an outdoor space in Buffalo, New York. Both are titled “Eden” and were done in 1987. Condition is excellent. Unsigned. Label on the bottom of the thick pine base states the artist and title of the artwork. Provenance: A Long Island, New York collector. Judith Shea has been a notable presence in the New York art world since the 1970s. Trained as a designer at Parsons, she soon found the fashion industry too restrictive and abandoned it in favor of making art. For her first solo show, at The Clocktower in 1976, Shea made a work based on color theory, using transparent silks in a spectrum of colors, worn by a live model. Other early work referenced clothing and its construction, first as flat, minimalist pattern and later as molded draping over implied, absent figures. In the 1981 Whitney Biennial, Shea showed three simple forms that evoked iconic clothes of the 1950s and 60s—the overcoat and the simple sheath dress—which hung from the wall as if on hangers. Five related works were included in the Hirshhorn’s Directions 83 survey. All of these works evoke human presence, felt as absence, as if the clothes were placeholders for missing persons. Thinking about her earlier clothes-based works, Shea has said that she “was looking for characters, for personae, really, to occupy them. I used clothes as stand-ins for people.” With the support of NEA grants, Shea began to learn bronze casting, and she was able to also spend time in Paris studying the statuary of its parks and gardens. This research led to several hollow-figure compositions from the 1980s that were designed to be sited in public spaces, such as Eden (John Hancock Tower, Chicago), Shepherd’s Muse (Oliver Ranch), Shield (Sheldon Museum of Art), and Without Words (Walker Art Center). In the 1990s, after a residency at Chesterwood—the site of Daniel Chester French’s studio in Stockbridge—Shea began to use woodcarving to make monumental public sculpture. The first of these full-scale wooden figures were shown in 1992 at the Whitney Museum at Phillip Morris in New York. In 1994 her wooden equestrian statue The Other Monument, a monumental image of a black man on a black horse, was installed at Doris Freedman Plaza in New York, in the same plaza as the William Tecumseh Sherman...

Original oil on canvas painting by Irene Zevon. Traces of spray paint in several areas as part of the painting done by the artist. Signed and dated lower right, 1962. Condition: Ver...

Impressive oil on canvas painting, worked with brush and palette knife of the iconic Pont Neuf bridge in Paris. Done in a post modern by the French artist, Dominique Simon, who used...

Post Modern experimental artwork of watercolor on handmade paper by the well known Russian/American artist, Nahum Tschacbasov. Signed lower left and dated 1961. Condition is very go...

Oil on canvas painting by the Polish born artist, Ernest Kosmowski. The painting is done with palette knife and brush typical of his style and children theme in the 1960’s. Soft, pa...

Oil on canvas painting by the Polish born artist, Ernest Kosmowski. The painting is done with palette knife and brush typical of his style and children theme in the 1960’s. Soft, pa...

The project of this engaging artwork was made in 1974 by the Brasilian artist Edival ramosa, during his stay in Italy, from 1964 to 1974. In this engraved steel artwork we can find e...

Red and Aqua Wreath Drop Earrings are made from acrylic gemstones set in brass frames with sterling silver and fine silver ear components. Each ‘stone’ is hand cut, sanded, and polished to resemble her own version of gemstones that sparkle with holographic material. By utilizing multiple gauges of acrylic and brass these earrings are large, but lightweight and easy to wear. About the Artist: Nikki Couppee is originally from Pensacola Beach, Florida and currently resides in Oakland, California. She holds an MFA in Jewelry/ Metals from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio and a BFA in Jewelry/ Metals from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Her work examines the connection between adornment and social status. Using non-traditional materials such as acrylic, brass, holographic foil, and found objects, Couppee creates jewelry that appears opulent. By utilizing time-intensive processes, she further references the language of fine jewelry, with the intention of elevating the work. Using everyday materials, she is able to exaggerate the size and abundance of gems to parody class issues inherent in fine jewelry. Couppee's work has been featured in many publications including American Craft, Allure Australia, Marie Claire Australia, Metalsmith Magazine, Modern Magazine, Vogue Brazil, Daily Candy and Lark Book's 500 Enameled Objects. She exhibits her work globally through exhibitions, gallery representation, fairs and recent runway collaborations for Paris' Fashion Week and Australian Fashion Week with designers Romance was Born.

This Mixed Media piece titled "Weepy Checkered Lily" is an original artwork by Roxana Azar made of a UV print on acrylic. The piece measures approx. 22.25"h x 14"w. Roxana Azar’s wo...

This Mixed Media piece titled "Fern Spiral Series 1" is an original artwork by Roxana Azar made of an etched fluorescent acrylic. The piece measures 6.25”h x 7”w x 2”d. Roxana Azar...

This Mixed Media piece titled "Fern Spiral Series 4" is an original artwork by Roxana Azar made of an etched fluorescent acrylic. The piece measure...

This Mixed Media piece titled "Fern Spiral Series 2" is an original artwork by Roxana Azar made of an etched fluorescent acrylic. The piece measure...