Mitzi Pederson (born 1976) is an American artist specializing in abstract sculptural work. Pederson is known for her use of ordinary household, construction, and building materials to explore sculptural concepts of weight, tension, balance, and permanence. She is the recipient of a 2006 SECA Art Award. Pederson splits her time between San Francisco and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Early life and education

Pederson was born in 1976 in

Stuart, Florida Stuart is a city in and the seat of Martin County, Florida, United States. Located on Florida's Treasure Coast, Stuart is the largest of four incorporated municipalities in Martin County. The population is 17,425 according to the 2020 United State ...

. She has an M.F.A. in painting and drawing from the California College of the Arts, a B.F.A. in printing, painting, and drawing, along with a minor in architecture, from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

, and studied at L'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France.

Work

Pederson uses everyday materials as the basis of her work, with an emphasis on the material of construction. She sources these materials from remnants of destruction, such as scrap heaps, as well as hardware stores and other retailers. Her sculptures have included cinderblocks, plywood, cellophane, fabric, tulle, wire, sand, glitter, and paint. The materials are often presented in a nearly-raw state, with light embellishment using ephemera such as gilding, tulle, and glitter.

Critical reception

Pederson began showing during her time at the California College of the Arts, appearing with regularity in gallery exhibitions at the institution and in galleries around the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2006, two years after completing her M.F.A. program, Pederson was announced as one of four recipients of the SECA Art Award from the

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

. In 2008, Pederson's work was included in the

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition in ...

, at the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

in New York City. Both the SECA Award and the Whitney Biennial focus on emerging, lesser known contemporary artists; the Biennial has been described as "one of the most important surveys of the state of contemporary art in the United States." In 2008, art critic Glen Helfand included Pederson's exhibition ''"Unlet Me Go"'' as a selection in his top ten "exhibitions, events, and films" from 2007 based on "joy, originality, and serious subtext." Her work has been described by curators as possessing a graceful use of balance, deliberation, and incongruity, while marrying elements in unexpected or impracticable ways. She is noted for "restrained gestures," "contemplative" investigations of energy and time. Critics have described her work as "sparse ndsmart," having a "savvy humbleness," and "slight in a cerebral way," while citing her "aesthetic sensibility and formal courage" and ability to produce a "radical evolution of simple things." Critics have suggested Pederson's work has antecedents in and influences from sculptors such Richard Serra, Richard Tuttle, and

Anselm Reyle Anselm Reyle (born 1970) is an artist based in Berlin. He is known for his often large-scale abstract paintings and found-object sculptures. Biography Anselm Reyle was born in Tübingen, Germany in 1970. He studied at the Staatliche Akademie d ...

. Her work has been compared favorably with work by

Joëlle Tuerlinckx Joëlle Tuerlinckx (born 1958) is a Belgian artist. She was born in Brussels where she lives and works. Tuerlinckx combines found objects, drawings, collages, film, video and slide projections in her installations. Her work has been displayed ...

and James Turrell.

Awards and honors

* SECA Art Award 2006, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art * Whitney Biennial 2008, Whitney Museum of American Art

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pederson, Mitzi 1976 births Living people 20th-century American sculptors California College of the Arts alumni Carnegie Mellon University alumni People from Stuart, Florida

Early life and education

Work

Critical reception

Awards and honors

See also

References