the artist

Judy Pfaff

Photo Credit: Peter Aaron/OTTO

Judy Pfaff

London, England

Judy Pfaff

https://www.judypfaffstudio.com/

Often cited as a pioneer of installation-art and contributor to the Pattern and Decoration Movement (P&D), Judy Pfaff has created work that spans disciplines from painting to printmaking and sculpture to installation. Born in London in 1946, Pfaff received a BFA from Washington University Saint Louis (1971) and an MFA from Yale University (1973) where she studied with Al Held. She exhibited work in the Whitney Biennials of 1975, 1981, and 1987, and represented the United States in the 1998 Sao Paulo Bienal. Her pieces reside in the permanent collections of MoMA, the Whitney Museum of Art, Tate Gallery, Brooklyn Museum of Art, and Detroit Institute of Arts, among others. She is currently represented by the Miles McEnery and Accola Griefen galleries in New York and has been previously represented by Holly Solomon, Carl Solway and Susanne Hilberry. She is the recipient of many awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center (2014), the MacArthur Foundation Award (2004), and the Guggenheim Fellowship (1983). Pfaff lives and works in Tivoli, New York.

Gallery Photo Credit: Peter Aaron/OTTO

Fast Facts

Name: Judy Pfaff

Website: www.judypfaffstudio.com

Place of Birth: London, England

Education:
1965 Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
1968 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL
1970 Norfolk Summer School of Music and Art, Norfolk, CT
1971 BFA - Washington University, Saint Louis, MO
1973 MFA - Yale University, New Haven, CT
1999 Honorary Doctorate, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY

Notable or memorable instructors or mentors:
Al Held

Particular field of study or class work:
Installation, sculpture, drawing, printmaking

Major influences/admired artists:
Especially in relation to the Convention Center installation – Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Barnes Collection
Eva Hesse, Lee Bontecou, Elizabeth Murray, Lynda Benglis, Yvonne Rainer, George Sugarman

Favorite materials or media:
Steel, expanding foam, melted plastic, resins, found objects, lighting (neon, fluorescent, LED), large format photography, encaustic, oil stick.

School or university affiliation (when Convention Center acquired artwork):
Bard College

Gallery Representation (when Convention Center acquired artwork):
Andre Emmerich, Susanne Hilberry Gallery.

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