Coleen Sterritt

Coleen Sterritt
Born1953
Morris, Illinois, US
EducationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Otis College of Art & Design
Known forSculpture, assemblage art
AwardsJohn Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, City of Los Angeles Sculpture Award, J. Paul Getty Trust Fund for the Visual Arts
WebsiteColeen Sterritt

Coleen Sterritt (born 1953) is an American sculptor known for abstracted, hybrid works made from a myriad of everyday objects and materials, combined in unexpected ways.[1][2][3] Writers root her work in the tradition of post-minimalists Jackie Winsor, Eva Hesse and Nancy Graves, and assemblage artists such as Louise Nevelson, Robert Rauschenberg and Marisa Merz; she is sometimes associated with contemporaries Jessica Stockholder, Nancy Rubins, and Tony Cragg.[4][1][5] Sculpture critic Kay Whitney suggests Sterritt's work "expands and reinterprets three of the most important artistic inventions of the 20th Century—collage, abstraction and the readymade"— in play with the traditions of Arte Povera bricolage and Surrealist psychological displacement.[6] Curator Andi Campognone considers Sterritt one of the most influential post-1970s artists in establishing "the Los Angeles aesthetic" in contemporary sculpture,[7] while others identify her as an inspiration for later West Coast artists creating hand-made, free-standing sculpture counter to trends toward interventions, public art and environmental works.[8] Constance Mallinson writes that Sterritt's work "walks a line between charm and threat, the natural, the industrial and the hand fabricated, rejecting easy associations for complex reads."[1] Los Angeles Times critic David Pagel calls it smart, funky and "subtly rebellious" in its refashioning of discarded material, dumpster finds, and art-historical lineages.[2]

Coleen Sterritt, Endear, Fixall, shellac, steel, tar, straw, 126" x 129" x 54", 1987.

Sterritt has exhibited throughout the United States, in Japan, Spain, Kenya and South Africa, and in major shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE),[9] Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art (LAICA), and Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery,[10] among many venues. In 2016, she was named a John Simon Guggenheim Fine Arts Fellowship recipient.[11] Sterritt's work is featured in several public art collections and the books American Women Sculptors: A History of Women Working in Three Dimensions[12] and L.A. Rising: SoCal Artists Before 1980.[13] In 2018, Griffith Moon published the retrospective catalogue, Coleen Sterritt: 1977–2017, in collaboration with the Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH).[14] Sterritt is based in the Los Angeles area.

  1. ^ a b c Mallinson, Constance. "Between: Recent Sculpture of Coleen Sterritt," Coleen Sterritt: Between, Turlock, CA: CSU Stanislaus, University Art Gallery, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Pagel, David. "Coleen Sterritt's 'Torque' rebels subtle ways," Los Angeles Times, December 20, 2013.
  3. ^ Johnson, Cooper. "Tipping Equilibrium: Building an Aesthetic from the Contradictions of Organic and Geometric Form," Coleen Sterritt: 1977–2017, Santa Monica, CA: Griffith Moon, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  4. ^ Klonarides, Carole Ann. "Still Point: Coleen Sterritt — Sculpture (2011-17)," Coleen Sterritt: 1977–2017, Santa Monica, CA: Griffith Moon, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  5. ^ Frank, Peter and Andi Campognone, Andi. Curators’ Statement, Coleen Sterritt: Stuck to the World, Riverside, CA: Riverside Art Museum, 2006.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference whitney17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Campognone, Andi. Introduction. Coleen Sterritt: 1977–2017, Santa Monica, CA: Griffith Moon, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  8. ^ Spaid, Sue. "Still Standing (After Balancing En Pointe for Nearly Four Decades)," Coleen Sterritt, Santa Monica, CA: Griffith Moon, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  9. ^ Hugo, Joan. "Six Downtown Sculptors", Artweek, April 21, 1979.
  10. ^ Korten, Noel. Natural Forces in Los Angeles Sculpture, Los Angeles: Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery at Barnsdall Park, 1990.
  11. ^ John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Coleen Sterritt, Fellows. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  12. ^ Rubinstein, Charlotte Streifer. American Women Sculptors: A History of Women Working in Three Dimension, Boston: G.K. Hall and Co., 1990.
  13. ^ Kienholz, Lyn. L.A. Rising: SoCal Artists Before 1980, The California/International Arts Foundation, 2010.
  14. ^ Griffith Moon Publishing. Coleen Sterritt: 1977–2017, Santa Monica, CA: Griffith Moon, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.