Judd Schiffman and Stacy Scibelli
September 14 – November 2, 2024
Opening Reception:
Saturday, September 14, 3-5pm
Drive-by Projects thanks Shana Dumont Garr for curating this thoughtful and timely exhibition.
The eye is the first circle; the horizon which it forms is the second; and throughout nature this primary figure is repeated without end.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson – Circles, 1841
The artworks in this exhibition convey the reality that two things can be true at once. A circle is like this: it is both a noun and a verb, and where it begins, it also ends. To encircle is to draw a boundary, to frame, focus, to embrace. The artworks in this exhibition explore variations on the circle and its expansive meanings.
Stacy Scibelli’s Garb series are both abstract canvases and experimental garments. Their shapes, when worn, uniquely drape on each figure, with plentiful snaps welcoming innovative ways to encircle the body. The body and the art appear unique with each wearing, moving beyond gender norms and originating from sustainable inks and fabric. These are conscious choices by the artist, who cares deeply about how art-making might nurture rather than hinder the environment. Garb accentuates expressive gestures and expands the possibilities of how clothing both shelters us and helps us convey our place in the world.
Judd Schiffman’s sculptures are both stories and symbols. Made with fired porcelain, they are delicate while rigid; elemental while ethereal. His assemblages of plants and animals are made to hang on the wall, defying expectations for ceramics to be either functional or three-dimensional sculptures. Organic, meandering outlines surround each scene, like a vignette in a book, with leaves arranged, wreath-like, around words. The surreal arrangements focus us in realms grounded in time-honored emblems suggestive of spiritual experiences.
Together, Scibelli and Schiffman invite us to dwell in arcs of subtlety. These artworks generate reveries wherein one appreciates middle spaces beyond the binary.
Above images:
left: Stacy Scibellli – ‘Garb: La Partida’, pigment dyed cotton, metal snaps
right: Judd Schiffman – ‘Alan Watts/Gila Monster Encounter, Mountains’, 2020, porcelain, stoneware, glaze, gold luster, 40 x 22 x 1.5″
