The Lattice of Memory

My work mixes the fantastical with the mundane in an effort to locate spirit and the imagination within daily life. Telephones, needles and strings, a book or a shirt, a pair of galoshes, or an opened suitcase, become purveyors of meaning in a fictionalized memoir made of carved stone sculptures, installations and drawings. Through the juxtaposition of distinctive materials such as organza, salt, video, and stone, I strive to imbue the familiar with a quiet monumentality. I combine images of utilitarian objects, figures, and abstraction to suggest a hidden, emotional terrain that is rejected by modern life. Equally influenced by the spareness of conceptual art as I am by decorative crafts, my work restores the union between the intellect and the emotions. Through it I question the remoteness of our relationships, how we try to forget the darker recesses of life, and the necessity of remembering.

msivak@hotmail.com
www.nancymargolisgallery.com

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2008 Ephemera, A.I.R. Gallery, New York
2007 Laura Russo Gallery, Portland, Oregon
2006 Cipher, The Art Shop, Abergavenny Wales, UK
2003 Lacing Atropos, Contemporary Crafts Museum and Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA
1998 Spire, The Material World Exhibition SPACES, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
1997 The Comfort Food, Anderson Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, USA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2008 Narrations I & II, Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, New York
2008 Your Documents Please, curated by Daniel Georges/Rumi Tsuda, Museum of Art & Craft-Itami Japan, ZAIM Project, Yokohama, Japan
2008 Structured Incidents, curated by Charlotta Kotik, A.I.R. Gallery, New York
2007 Presence of Light, Oriel Canfas Gallery, Cardiff, UK
2007 The London Art Fair, Panter and Hall Gallery, London, UK
2007 Made Out of the Ordinary, A.I.R. Gallery, New York
2006 Art London, Panter & Hall Gallery, Royal Hospital, London, UK
2006 Drawing Improvisation, Tallinn Art Hall, Tallinn, Estonia
2006 Third International Symposium for Sculpture in Alabaster, Palazzo Pretorio, Volterra, Italy
2005 Forty Artists, Forty Drawings The Drawing Gallery, London, UK
2004 Collecting Words curated by Nancy Palmer, Gallery 114, Portland, OR, USA
2003 Works on Paper, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, Massachusetts, USA
1998 Perspectivas en Grabado, Galeria Juan Pardo Heeren, Lima, Peru
1995 Watkins Gallery, American University, Washington D.C.
1994 Temple University Rome Gallery, Rome, Italy


SELECTED AWARDS

2005 Yeck National Young Sculptors Competition,First Prize, Miami University, Oxford, OH
2005-06 Artist Residency, Berllanderi Sculpture Workshop, Wales, UK
2003,2005 Regional Arts and Culture Council, Project and Professional Development Grant, Portland, Oregon, USA
1997 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship, Richmond, Virginia, USA
1996 Ruth Chenven Grant for Visual Artists, New York
1995 Cleome Wadsworth/Olga Hirshorn Sculpture Competition, Merit Award, Washington, D.C.


SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Drawing”, The New York Sun Arts+ Selects Monday, February 11, 2008 Photo spread
"Marie Sivak at Blackfish Gallery", Lois Allan. Artweek, April, 2004. Review
“Material World”, Douglas Max Utter, The New Art Examiner, June 1998.Review

EDUCATION

1994 BFA, Sculpture, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia
1997 MFA, Sculpture and Extended Media, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia


COLLECTIONS

Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Miami University, Oxford Ohio
City of Volterra, Italy