Maria Nevelson

About Maria Nevelson

Nevelson is a third generation sculptor with a lineage to Louise Nevelson, her grandmother and one of the world’s premiere 20th
Century sculptors. Her parents, Mike Nevelson a sculptor and Florence Nevelson a multi-disciplined artist, raised her amidst
a wood studio. More interested in singing than any possible visual art skill in her early years, Maria studied voice during high
school. She attended George Washington University, receiving a  BA in Art History, and initiating the first university accredited internship  serving as Co-Director and Curator at the Museum of Temporary Art.

A popular speaker, Nevelson has addressed diverse audiences with a range of topics from interior design to intimate portraits of her
grandmother Louise Nevelson. She has lectured at the Whitney Museum of Art; Pace Wildenstein Gallery; Nelson-Atkins Museum
of Art; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Fay Gold Gallery; and the Farnsworth Museum’s Nevelson Wing. Over the years, Maria has
taught interior design courses at the Parsons School of Design and Moore College of Art and Design.

She writes...

'Each of my sculptures is an intuitive expression of a particular event or emotion.  Finding a rhythm is key to my process, negating conscious choices.  From this, energy is brought through my body as I assemble the wood forms into unique compositions.  The shapes dance with the spaces generating tension, pauses and fluidity.  My goal is always unknown.  By allowing the shapes and spaces to dictate the result, I avoid the boring and expected.  Also, my palette consists of one color.  By adhering to one hue, I am able to go beyond color connotations and right into the essence of the experience.  If I painted the pieces various colors, the experience would stay grounded and be about color and the individual shapes.  The ultimate aim in my work is to create sculptures that in their static nature embody harmony and at the same time the viewer is elevated and can sail away in their own abstracted experience.'

#10.2.1 [2010]
Wood painted silver
Donated by the artist, 2011