Ailene Fields (born 1948) is an American sculptor and

stone carving Stone carving is an activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, stone work has survived which was created during our prehistory or past time. Work carried ...

teacher known for her skills in stone, bronze and acrylic. Her subjects often call upon

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

and

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

for inspiration.

Biography

Born Eileen Rubin in 1948 in Brooklyn, New York, she graduated with a degree in English and Greek mythology from

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in the Bronx borough of New York City. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within CUNY in September 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehma ...

, New York City, in 1973. A self-taught potter, she next studied the human figure with

Bruno Lucchesi Bruno Lucchesi (born 1926) is an Italian-American sculptor known for his figurative work. Lucchesi was born in Fibbiano Montanino in Lucca, Italy. He studied at the Art Institute of Lucca, then moved to Florence, Italy, where he became Assistant ...

The New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSSR ...

, New York City, in 1980. Lucchesi sent her to Sculpture Center, New York City to further her practical education as a sculptor. After mastering the figure she became adept at both stone carving and sculpting for

bronze casting Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is ...

. In 1967 she married Dr. David Fields with whom she has two sons, Marc and Adam. Fields' first one-person exhibition was in 1987 at the Lavaggi Gallery in New York City. Since that time, her work has been continually exhibited in American art galleries. She has had solo museum exhibitions at the Bergen Museum of Art & Science, Paramus, New Jersey, and The

Appleton Museum of Art The Appleton Museum of Art is an art museum located in Ocala, Florida. It is affiliated with and governed by the College of Central Florida and has been since 2004. The Appleton Museum of Art houses a permanent collection of more than 24,000 wor ...

, Ocala, Florida. Solo gallery exhibitions include CFM Gallery, NYC, NY; Roslyn Sailor Fine Arts, Margate, NJ; Broadhurst Gallery, Pinehurst, NC; Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester, VT; Pendragon Gallery, Annapolis, MD; White Lights Gallery, Nyack, NY; Barbara Debetz Gallery, NYC, NY; Lavaggi Gallery, NYC, NY; and Six Summit Gallery in Ivoryton, CT. She has also been represented in well over 25 group exhibitions across the United States. She has taught stone carving at Sculpture Center and

The Educational Alliance Educational Alliance is a leading social institution that has been serving communities in New York City’s Lower Manhattan since 1889. It provides multi-generational programs and services in education, health and wellness, arts and culture, and ...

in NYC and is currently teaching at

The Compleat Sculptor The Compleat Sculptor, Inc., is an American retailer of sculpture supplies. Established in New York City in 1995 as a comprehensive source of sculptural materials and tools, it is one of the largest sculptural materials suppliers in the world. It ...

in New York City, one of the largest sculpture suppliers in the world, which she co-owns with Marc Fields. She is represented by CFM Gallery and Six Summit Gallery. Ailene founded th
Skylands Museum of Art
in Lafayette, NJ, saying "I don't want it to be a museum where everything is sterile." The museum opened to the public on October 21, 2023.

Sculptures

Fields' sculptures often feature animals, mythological figures and architectural elements. Often mixing stone with bronze, her sculptures highlight the essence of the subjects, most often in an optimistic and insightful manner. Her stone series ''Sacred Spaces'' represents places of contemplation and peace, which she feels are mandatory for our times. Themes in her work are evocative of dreams, and magic calling forth the qualities that make us human.

Public art installations

Fantastic Creatures 2020

Starting in late 2019 and running through summer 2020, in conjunction with Six Summit Gallery and featuring pieces by sculptor Gina Miccinilli, Fields exhibited three public art installations of fantastical representational works at Bella Abzug Park at Hudson Yards, Port Authority Bus Terminal, and Dag Hammarskjold Plaza.

* "Annual Presentation of Sculpture Editions.
Art Business News
Long Island, NY, August 1996. * Becker, Marilyn. "Ailene Fields Bringing Nature Forms to Life in Stone." Manhattan Arts, NYC, April - May 1991. * Dengal, Janet. "A Salute to Women in the Arts: Sharing of Dreams and Dialogue." Northern Valley News, Cresskill, NJ, April 1990. * Forbes, Jamie Ellin. "Then & Now Ailene Fields.
Fine Art Magazine
Ronkonkoma, New York, Fall, 2011. * Gilbert, Sidney. "Ailene Fields: Three Dimensional Mythology." Artspeak, NYC, April 1989. * Larose, Tom. "Once Upon a Time."
Fine Art Magazine
Ronkonkoma, NY, Spring 1999. *McCormack, Ed. "CFM Books Captures Ailene Fields' Fantastic Critters Between Hard Covers.

NYC, June/July 2011. * "On Display."

Asbury Park Press The ''Asbury Park Press'' is a daily newspaper in Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey and has the third largest circulation in the state. It has been owned by Gannett since 1997. Its reporting staff has been awarded numerous national hon ...

, November 1992. * Raynor, Vivien
"ART; Stone Sculpture Society Exhibits Work."
''The New York Times ''11 Sept. 1988. ''Infotrac Newsstand''. Retrieved 18 May 2014. * Shaw, Alexandra. "Ailene Fields Shows Sculpture by the Sea Shore." Manhattan Arts, NYC, June - August 1991. * Wagner, J.L. "Ailene Fields a Sculptor on the Cutting Edge...of Alabaster." Sunstorm, Ronkonkoma, NY, April, 1990. * Weiss, Paulette. "French's American on 57th." Where Magazine, NYC, July 1997. * Wetman, Dennis. "Ailene Fields' Enchanted Menagerie." Manhattan Arts, NYC, October,1989. * Zukerman, Neil; Larose, Thomas, Phd; Birdseye, Scott; MacCormack, Ed; Fields, Dr. David. “Out of the Nowhere into the Here - Ailene Fields, Sculptor." CFM Publishing, NYC, 2011.

References

External links