We are delighted to present an exclusive exhibition of figurative sculptures by Arizona artist Judith Stewart. In this show that takes place at the Jackson Grant Gallery in Ross, where six works are shown, as well as online, where nine more are presented, Stewart continues her exploration of the female body in three dimensions in ceramic and bronze. Some of the works are whole figures, engaged in expressive activity, such as handling a snake, while others are torsos with or without heads.

The clay or bronze headless sculptures are hollow forms, partially clothed or not, often in movement, and always exhibiting Stewart’s right-on sense for the female form. “I empathize directly with the forms I am making”, she tells us, “— I feel the posture and balance and tensions of a pose… and so on.  I know how all that feels, and there is a direct one-on-one transferal that goes on between my body and what I am making”.  

Stewart’s latest clay sculptures posit a strong link to nature. In Flora, Gowned Torso with Flowers and Torso with Flower, Stewart has added delightfully delicate flowers that seem to have just blossomed on their own. And the snake of Girl Holding a Snake is a wonder of likeness and compositional interest, not to mention technical prowess.

The complete figures, all in clay this time (but she is also making bronze commissions available), Stewart imbues with an inner vital force and quiet introspection, perhaps with the exception of Girl with Spiral Hair, the spunkiest of the group.

We chose to include earlier bronzes in this exhibition. Their originals were in wax, Stewart’s first exploration into sculpture. She worked with slabs that she manipulated with apparent freedom. Now her bronzes find their initial life in ceramic, also slab based, which Stewart discovered after she moved to Arizona in 1991. “Clay is uniquely responsive while being handled, almost like something alive, offering up wonderful happenings which are impossible to plan or anticipate”, says Stewart. “It seems a generous partner in art making”.

Judy Stewart received her BFA from Syracuse University and her MFA from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Both degrees were in painting, but sculpture courses were ever-present by choice. Visiting Professor Nathan Oliveira was an important early influence. Stewart admired his work profoundly and his encouragement -telling her she could do anything she wanted in art- continues to inspire and guide her to this day.

Please note that prices are listed below for these works.

Click the link below to read a recent interview of the artist by gallery owner and curator, Brigitte Micmacker.