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Statement
To me, ordinary objects seem extraordinary.
Artifacts of early industrial manufacturing, discarded shards of
recent technology, and kitsch of any era reveal a great deal about
our materialistic culture and changing attitudes toward the “stuff”
in our lives. Common objects are laden with magic and symbolic associations
that reflect and affect the psyche.
Mechanical objects from past eras seem
especially magical for, after we’ve forgotten their functions,
their forms transform into art. Before automatons evolved into the
automatic, machines were extensions of the body rather than of the
mind. Old machine parts imitated human forms in a way that modern
machines do not. Hinges worked like joints, levers moved like limbs,
mouthpieces had lips, typewriter keys reached out to touch your
fingertips, and even parts intended to remain concealed within were
designed as elegantly as Brancusi sculptures. The mirroring of human
or animal forms, as seen through modern eyes, may even endow objects
with primitive mask-like or shaman-esque qualities that I exaggerate
to infuse the inanimate with anima.
When isolated in shallow space, the
objects I depict are transformed into icons of our consumer society.
Another way I explore this concept is by drawing parallels with
Dutch still-life art. For example, in my “Machina” images,
the gears and parts of an antique movie projector are rendered in
patterns similar to arrangements in 17th Century fruit and flower
paintings, such as those by Jan van Huysum. Just as these Netherlandish
paintings symbolized the impermanence of beauty and life, the bouquet
of gears in my imagery may be perceived as glorifying the fleeting
nature of our technological world. At times this metaphor is further
implied by adopting or skewing a faux-Old Master style, while at
other times cartoonishly stylistic mannerisms are used to anthropomorphize
my subjects and elicit impressions of them as phantasmagorical living
creatures.
My use of fabric is a Baroque conceit
employed to layer patterns and lead the eye around the picture plane,
reinforcing the sense of movement in the static and blurring distinctions
between organic and mechanical forms. Touches of rust are often
added, not to document decay but rather to convey the organic aesthetic
inherent in this process. Like the rotting carcass of the dead horse
in Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal poems, deteriorating
items also remind us that everything – even our shiny sleek
new I-Pods -- will one day outlive their usefulness and appeal ….
until, perhaps, some artist comes along and finds salvation in the
salvaged.
We are swimming in the detritus and
flotsam of an innovative but wasteful society. There is beauty,
humor, irony, poignancy, absurdity, menace, and warning in our junk.
It speaks of who we were, who we are, and who we will become. For
me, the process of evolving from something treasured to relic to
treasured relic can even be perceived as spiritual. I strive to
create paintings, drawings, and prints not of still-lifes, but of
life, unstill.
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Education
| 1971-75 |
Manhattan School of Music, New
York, NY, Bachelor of Music Degree, Flute/Performance Major |
| 1972 |
International Summer School, Nice France, Flute
Master Class of Jean Pierre Rampal |
| 1975, 76 |
Lake Placid School of Art, Lake Placid, NY,
Summer Printmaking Courses |
| 1976-82 |
Pratt Graphics Center, New York, NY |
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Solo Exhibitions
| 1996 |
Stone and Press Gallery, New Orleans,
LA; May 3 - 31 |
| 1997 |
Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Open Studios.
New York, NY, April 19 |
| 2001 |
The Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI, January
5 – March 31 |
| 2002 |
The Noble Maritime Collection Museum, Snug
Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY; Feb. 2 – June
2 |
| 2003 |
“Un-Still Lifes: Mezzotint Engravings
by Carol Wax”, University of Dallas, Irving, TX, September
5 - 30 |
| 2006 |
Carol Wax’s Mezzotint Engravings, The
Paramount Center for the Arts, Peekskill, NY, June 1 - 30 |
| |
2006 “Shadowplay” Prints and Drawings
by Carol Wax, Herakleidon Experience in Visual Arts Museum,
Athens, Greece, scheduled to open September 15 |
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Two - Three Person Exhibitions
| 1994 |
Prints by Carol Wax, Janet Yake,
David Finkbeiner, Fitch-Febvrel Gallery, New York, NY; April
20 - May |
| 2001 |
Mezzotints by Wax, Schkolnyk, and Bratt, Davidson
Galleries, Seattle, WA; June 7 - 30 |
| 2006 |
Mezzotints by Carol Wax and Frederick Mershimer,
Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA, February 3 - 25 |
| 2006-07 |
Carol Wax and Marlene Sloan, Fenn Gallery,
Woodbury, CT, December 14 – January 28 |
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Competitive Exhibitions and
Juried Invitationals
| 2006 |
25th National Print Exhibition
2006, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT |
| |
Exhibition of Works by Newly Elected Members
and Recipients of Honors and Awards, American
Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY |
| |
Invitational Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture,
American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY |
| |
Sixty Square Inches 15th Biennial Small Print
Exhibition, Purdue University Galleries, West Lafayette, IN |
| |
19th Parkside National Small Print Exhibition,
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI |
| 2005 |
Prints USA 2005, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield,
MO |
| |
LAPS 18th National Exhibition, “Another
View”, at Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA |
| |
New Prints 2005/Spring, International Print
Center of New York, NY |
| |
5th Biennial International Miniature Print
Exhibition, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT |
| |
North American Print Biennial, The Boston Printmakers,
808 Gallery, Boston University, MA |
| 2004 |
New Prints 2004/Summer, International Print
Center of New York, NY |
| 2003 |
24th National Print Exhibition 2003, Silvermine
Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT |
| |
North American Print Biennial, The Boston Printmakers,
808 Gallery, Boston University, MA |
| |
16th Parkside National Small Print Exhibition,
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI |
| 2002 |
Delta National Small Prints ’02, Arkansas
State University, Jonesboro, AR |
| |
International Print Center of New York, Summer
2002 New Prints, New York, NY |
| |
New York Society of Etchers and The Society
of Hungarian Etchers, National Arts Club, New York, NY |
| 2001 |
New York Society of Etchers in Hungary, Galéria
IX, Budapest, Hungary |
| |
Sixty Square Inches, National Small Print Competition,
Purdue University Art Gallery, West Lafayette, IN |
| |
Prints USA 2001, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield,
MO |
| |
North American Print Biennial, The Boston Printmakers,
808 Gallery, Boston University, MA |
| 2000 |
SAGA Members Exhibition at Stephen Gang Gallery,
New York, NY |
| |
New York Society of Etchers Juried Exhibition,
National Arts Club, New York, NY |
| |
175th Annual Exhibition, National Academy of
Design, New York, NY |
| 1999 |
Prints USA 1999, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield,
MO |
| |
North American Print Biennial, The Boston Printmakers,
Boston University, MA |
| |
12th Parkside National Small Print Exhibition,
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI |
| 1998 |
Delta National Small Prints ’98, Arkansas
State University, Jonesboro, AR |
| |
173rd Annual Exhibition, National Academy of
Design, New York, NY |
| |
11th Parkside National Small Print Exhibition,
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI |
| 1997 |
Delta National Small Prints ’97, Arkansas
State University, Jonesboro, AR |
| |
Portland Museum of Art International Print
Exhibition, Portland, OR |
| |
Beyond Boundaries, California Society of Printmakers,
Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA |
| 1996 |
171st Annual Exhibition, National Academy of
Design, New York, NY |
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Group Shows and Non-Competitve
Invitationals
| 2006-07 |
Passion and Process: Impressions
From America’s Master Printmakers, Louisville Art Association,
curated by Brian Jones, Louisville, KY, November 10 –
February 2007 |
| 2006 |
HotPics/06, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah,
NY, curated by Leslie Nolan, May 14 – June 11 |
| 2005-06 |
Out of the Darkness: Contemporary Mezzotints,
Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR, Dec. 17 – March 12 |
| 2004 |
Small Print Show, State University of New York
at Oneonta, NY, November 10 – January 22, 2005 |
| |
Out of Darkness, Glasgow Print Studio Gallery,
Glasgow, Scotland, February 7 – March 13 |
| 2002 |
Artists to Artists: A Decade of The Marie Walsh
Sharpe Art Foundation Space Program Residents, presented at
Ace Gallery, New York, NY, May 17 – June 1 (book published) |
| 2001 |
A Passion for Paper: Prints and Drawings from
the Joel and John Weinstock Collection, New Orleans
Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA, October 4 – December 30 |
| |
Works on Paper by Women Artists in the Microsoft
Collection, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA |
| |
Faculty Exhibition, The Rhode Island School
of Design Museum, Providence, RI |
| 2000 |
Jennifer Melby Editions at Barbara Krakow Gallery,
Boston, MA, September 9 – October 18 |
| 1999 |
Contemporary Mezzotints, Vorpal gallery, San
Francisco, CA, June - August |
| 1998 |
International Exhibition of Contemporary Mezzotints,
Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA, August 7 - 29 |
| |
Contemporary Mezzotints, Wichita Art Museum,
Wichita, KS, May 10 – September 27 |
| |
University of South Dakota, Frogman’s
Press Summer Faculty Exhibition, Vermillion, SD |
| |
Silvermine Guild Arts Center, Spring Faculty
Exhibition, New Canaan, CT |
| |
Contemporary Mezzotints, University of North
Carolina at Wilmington, NC, opened April 9 |
| |
9th International Print Biennial – Varna,
City Art Gallery, Varna, Bulgaria, August 15 – October
15 |
| 1997 |
Mezzotint: Art of Darkness, Tupelo Artists
Guild, Tupelo, MS, opened August 22 |
| |
Prized Impressions, the Philadelphia Art Museum,
Philadelphia, PA, July 12 – September 14 |
| |
Parkside National Mezzotint Exhibition, University
of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI |
| 1996 |
Mezzotint: Art of Darkness, New Orleans Museum
of Art, New Orleans, LA, April 27 – July 28 |
| |
Mezzotints, Wenniger Art Gallery, Boston, MA |
| |
Prints from The Pratt Graphics Center, American
Cultural Center, Taiwan and China tour |
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Teaching
| 1999 |
Rhode Island School of Design,
Providence, RI, Spring Semester
Intaglio I for Printmaking Majors |
| 2000 |
State University of New York at New Paltz,
New Paltz, NY, Fall Semester, Basic Printmaking for Art Majors
(woodcut and etching) |
| 2001 |
State University of New York at New Paltz,
New Paltz, NY, Fall Semester, Basic Printmaking for Art Majors |
| |
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence,
RI, Fall Semester
Intaglio I for Printmaking Majors
Direct, Non-Toxic Intaglio Printmaking
Independent Study Advisor, graduate and undergraduate |
| 2002 |
New York University, School of Continuing Education,
in conjunction with the Museum of the City of New
York, New York, NY, February 15-16 |
| |
Through the Lens of New York by New Yorkers:
Printmaking: A Historical and Technical Overview |
| |
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence,
RI, Fall Semester
Intaglio I for Printmaking Majors
Independent Study Advisor, undergraduate |
| 2003 |
State University of New York at New Paltz,
New Paltz, NY, Fall Semester
Basic Printmaking for Art Majors (woodcut and etching) |
| 2004 |
State University of New York at New Paltz,
New Paltz, NY, Spring Semester
Basic Printmaking for Art Majors (woodcut and etching),
Advanced Printmaking: Monotype (graduate and undergraduate) |
| |
Silvermine School of Art, New Canaan, CT, two-day
mezzotint workshop, January 31 – February 1 |
| |
Hunter College MFA Program, New York, NY,
visiting critic and lecturer, as part of New York Foundation
for
the Arts Artists and Audiences Exchange Program, May 1 |
| |
Lower East Side Printshop, New York, NY, two-day
mezzotint workshop, June 5 & 12 |
| |
Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY,
four-day mezzotint workshop, August 5 – 8 |
| |
Center for Contemporary Prints, Norwalk, CT,
two-day workshop, December 4 & 5 |
| 2005 |
Zea Mays Printshop, Florence, MA, two-day mezzotint
workshop, May 14 & 15 |
| |
Lower East Side Printshop, two-day mezzotint
workshop, June 18 & 25 |
| |
Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, Indiana,
November 14 - 18 |
| 2006 |
Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland,
OR, one-day mezzotint demonstration, February 11 |
| |
Seattle Print Arts @ Sev Shoon Print Studio,
Seattle, WA, mezzotint demonstration, February 15 |
| |
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, two-day
mezzotint workshop, March 9 - 10 |
| |
Montgomery College, Rockville, MD, three-day
mezzotint workshop, April 19 – 21 |
| |
Lower East Side Printshop, New York, NY, two
day mezzotint workshop, June 3 & 10 |
| |
Zea Mays Printshop, Florence, MA, two-day mezzotint
workshop, June 24 & 25 |
| 2008 |
The Print Club of Rochester, Presentation Print,
Rochester, NY, edition of 90, image TBD |
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Books Authored
/ Published
| 1990 |
The Mezzotint: History and Technique,
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., publisher, Thames and Hudson, Ltd., publisher
in the UK. 296 pages with illustrations in B&W and color |
| 1996 |
The Mezzotint: History and Technique, paperback
edition, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. publisher |
| 2006 |
Carol Wax: Catalog Raisonne, Prints 1975 –
2005, published by the Herakleidon Museum, Athens, Greece |
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