Interview with Iris Goldstein: New Plaster Reliefs
Iris Goldstein, a sculptor who has exhibited her work nationally and internationally in both Europe and Japan, creates relief sculptures made of plaster and aluminum screening, connecting textural surfaces and exploring color. She was an Artist-in-Residence in Haguro-Machi, Japan, and co-curated the Thirty Years at ARC Exhibition in 2003. Her husband, Paul, has fully supported her aspirations to obtain a graduate degree in art and to work as an artist. Together they have raised 4 children.
Reflections. Courtesy of the artist.
I have always had to balance family obligations and the time needed to be an artist, but my struggle has always been finding ideas that are interesting enough to me to pursue so that I could put in a lot of time on a piece and not lose interest. I have always worked from within myself, seeking to find something that is new to me.
ArtStyle: Where did you study art and were there any artists who influenced you?
Iris Goldstein (IG): Making art has been the principal interest all of my life. I grew up in Chicago and attended the public schools here. My first solo art exhibit was in the 7th grade at Nettlehorst School. I studied art in high school and won a Scholastic Magazine art award scholarship to study art at Syracuse University. I decided to attend Smith College instead because I knew that they had a very strong art department, and I was interested in earning a liberal arts degree. My principal influences at Smith were Leonard Baskin and Elliot Offner, both sculptors. After graduating from Smith, I earned an MFA at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago (SAIC), majoring in drawing and painting. I turned to making sculpture a few years after finishing at the SAIC, while drawing on my college influences and classes that I was taking at the time with Cosmo Campoli, a Chicago sculptor.
Wood Sculpture. Courtesy of the artist.
For years, I made sculpture, carving large pieces of hard wood. It was very labor intensive but I loved the process. Working with tools is interesting to me — I even used a chain saw. This is one of the last pieces that I carved (Wood Sculpture). Look what I did with the surface. I made thousands of tiny marks with color pencils, and the marks are almost invisible.
An artist friend Carol Seitchik taught me a technique of working with plaster over aluminum screening. The technique, for me, was an extension of my work in wood. In the beginning, I made, almost exclusively, plaster reliefs that I attached to a wood backing. Woodcarving was a long, laborious process for me, and this new technique allowed me to work faster and create installations. I could treat the surface the way I treated the wood, with much more attention to detail.
Iris Goldstein working on her sculpture.. Photo credit: Mirjana Ugrinov.
ArtStyle: How would you describe your current technique (plaster-aluminum screening)?
IG: I pre-cut pieces of aluminum screening to the dimensions I need. Then I bend these with my hands into organic shapes, and I use pieces of wire to hold the shapes in place and then attach cheesecloth over the wire. In the past I used to sew the cheesecloth to the wire, with needle and thread, but now I just gently stretch it over the wire. Then, I mix the plaster into a yogurt-consistency and paint as many coats as I feel I need on the cheesecloth — building the surface and letting it dry between layers. The plaster is applied in small sections, and as I paint, I continue to shape the surface with the brush. You have to work quickly because plaster stiffens very fast. Molding the shapes comes easily. I use scissors to cut around the shapes. The surfaces are very interesting — sometimes, the plaster coating is thicker and smoother in some places. Once dry, I can sand the shapes into smooth surfaces, carve them like wood or just leave the paint brush texture. I work over the surface as if it was clay. I can cut and carve into it. I keep painting over the plaster until it is built up to approximately 1/4-inch thickness. Sometimes the shapes are stapled to wood.
ArtStyle: Are you using a special kind of plaster to make the pieces less fragile?
IG: Surprisingly, the work is very durable, and it is shipped easily. I use FGR 95 Hydrocal. It’s the kind of plaster that’s able to receive fiberglass but it doesn’t contain it. I’ve never had a problem with cracking. The pieces are light weight and easy to repair if they chip.
Drawing. Courtesy of the artist.
ArtStyle: Drawing is another medium you are working in. The finish of your 3-D surfaces is similar to your elaborate pencil drawings. How and when do you draw?
IG: My normal process would be to sit down and work on drawing while the plaster coat on my 3-D work dries. I still struggle to make drawings that work for me, and I like drawing with pencil because plaster is so messy and pencils are easy. I love putting the marks on the paper. I experiment with textures of paper and a detailed pencil line varies tremendously from paper to paper. In working with my technique, I like smooth, hot press paper. For example, this sketchbook is Fabriano paper. I’m trying to find the paper that will give me the results that I want. I think I have every brand of pencil. I like Prismacolor and Derwent. I keep them organized by color in pencil holders that I can just unzip and use whenever I need them. An idea drawing book is something I always carry with me. You can take it into a car, train, or wherever you go.
Landscape. Photo credit: Mirjana Ugrinov.
ArtStyle: This piece (Landscape) is very simple and yet monumental looking. You left it completely white. Where does it fit within your creative process?
IG: There was a period when I left my plaster over screen and the work unpainted. I was interested in form at that time. This piece is a series of long segments that are connected in the back with a wood brace. As large as it is, it’s lightweight and easy to disassemble and move around. It was on display at the Saks Fifth Avenue mall on Michigan Avenue for quite some time. I carried it home by myself, piece by piece.
ArtStyle: You said that you have to do art. What motivates you and inspires you?
IG: There is a quality of enjoyment in the process. Shapes surprise you. Discovery through the process of working is what is interesting. Negative space is as important as the positive space. I’m interested in this relationship. I’m interested in organic and geometric forms, and landscape always inspires me. When I’m walking in the woods, I always take pictures of trees, roots, and branches. I take a lot of pictures of rocks, too. I just keep some of the images on the camera so I can look at them.
Hot Dog House. Courtesy of the artist.
ArtStyle: You have a strong sense of design and spatial understanding. Could you talk about your design experience?
IG: I learned a lot from Stanley Tigerman, the architect, when he designed a country house for us in Harvard, Illinois in the early 1970s. He called it The Hot Dog House (although we never did), and it became very famous. It was featured in GA Houses and House and Garden magazine, and in the early years, after the house was built, I used to go into Rizzoli’s Bookstore to leaf through architecture books and occasionally find a photo and story about our house. The back of the house faced a pond and large oak trees. Stanley designed large fixed-glass picture windows and ventilating grills to let in air. I decided to paint them to look like a Mondrian painting. I chose the colors and their placement and actually got up on an 18-foot ladder and painted the 2-story façade myself.
Sketch. Courtesy of the artist.
ArtStyle: In April of 2008, you will be exhibiting at ARC Gallery. What are you preparing for this show?
IG: I would like to do something spectacular on the ARC gallery walls. It will be an installation specifically created for the gallery space I choose. Parts need to exist on their own but the installation, as well, will be part of the art piece. The elements themselves will be more three dimensional, standing away from the wall, not stapled to the wood backing. I think that I will use very bright, almost primary colors for the surfaces — brighter than anything I’ve done in the past. I keep thinking about the show, and I visualize the work in the space. Recently, I woke up from the dream I had about it and said: Yes, this is what I want. So, I sketched some of it on paper.
For more of Iris Goldstein’s artwork, click here ArtStyle Blog Gallery.
Technorati Tags: relief sculptures, Leonard Baskin, Elliot Offner, Cosmo Campoli, plaster reliefs, Woodcarving, plaster-aluminum screening, Stanley Tigerman
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What a wonderful overview of Iris’ career to date. I look forward to seeing her projects as they evolve.
Great interview!
While I’m familiar with Iris Goldstein and her artwork, I still learned a lot about her influences and creative process.
The article included a great selection of pieces which nicely highlight her mastery of a wide range of techniques and aesthetic forms.
I really liked the anecdotes about carrying her huge Landscape sculpture home herself, piece by piece, as well as painting the “Hotdog House” again by herself on an 18 foot ladder! They do illustrate what I know to be her DIY fearlessness in attacking large projects.
Bravo Iris!
Very interesting and informative interview.
Iris is my older sister, so I grew up with her painting in oils. I have been amazed to see the variety of paths she has taken as an artist over the years, and have always loved her different works, some of which I have in my home. Even with this,I still learned much from the article….hearing her talk about the techniques she uses and her feelings about her work and what it means to her. Well done!
Iris Goldstein’s work is creative and original. Her techniques are inspirational. She “nutures” her art as well as many other facits of her life. I know….. I am proud to say “she is my cousin” !
Iris’ work is always this wonderful mix of the sensuous and the structural. Additionally, Iris is totally aware of the situational and presentation needs of art, that art always exists in a physical and emotional context. She knows how to manipulate the spaces around art. As always, I look forward to seeing her new work and her continuing evolution.
I so enjoyed seeing Iris’s work and process, with an emphasis on her influences. I have always loved her work, finding it sensual, powerful, and elegant, but it was especially nice to see where the work came from. I never knew about the Tigerman home and Iris’s background from long ago. Iris’s work is always evolving,transforming, and growing in an organic way which so fits the organic quality of her work itself. This interview truly highlighted Iris’s strengths as an artist, while providing insights into her creative process. Great!
Your interview gave me new insight into the processes that influence your work. Your work that is pictured looks great. I enjoyed your answers to the interviewer.
How wonderful to be able to learn more about the genesis of Iris Goldstein’s beautiful work. Her inspiration clearly comes from her core and is unique and full of energy and joy. Thanks for a great interview with her.
I enjoyed reading about the influences and seeing how the work and techniques have evolved over time. There’s definitely a sense of being engaged in the process itself and being open to new approaches — a vibrancy that’s reflected in the work itself. A great portait of the artist in her own words!
Iris’ work —
Thematically : Her works seem to be a successive analysis of mixing organic surfaces. — even when the material is hard/metallic — the artist usually renders its surface organically — part of the living breathing universe. Choosing surfacing renderings that don’t allow for forms to become an abstraction of reality.
What I enjoy: Viewing her art my eye is always forced to travel. No matter where it first lights, it follows the powerful flowing surface. It is like a river with a story at each bend. She has control of your eye, which is good in art.
Larry
Iris Goldstein’s work is spectacular! Her command of the language of sculpture arrests the senses. Thank you for this interview, with new insights into your work.
Iris, your work is SPECTACULAR!!
I love this. The internet makes artists available in a way that was previously not possible. I so enjoy seeing more about who you are and what you do. Will look forward to your ARC show next April and hope to include you in shows when I get the opportunity to put one together. Your wood sculpture is so gorgeous, lovely curvaceous line that make you want to touch that wood. Your drawing is also quite beautiful. Exceptional, beautiful work, Iris! Thanks so much for sharing this.
Iris’s art-this is creation and perfection together.
Kina bagovska
Thank you all for your comments and observations. Iris is an incredibly focused artist and it was a pleasure interviewing her. Thanks to ArtStyle blog, Chicago artists are getting an opportunity to talk about their art and share their techniques. It is important to continue our dialogue. Stay tuned, keep blogging, ask questions.
Thanks to all who have posted comments. Dialogue is, of course, what we are all after when we try to create. Mirjana Ugrinov is very gifted at making sense of a visual artist’s struggle to describe her processes verbally. Perhaps that is because she is such a good visual artist herself. Thank you, Mirjana. And thank you, Amy Rudberg, for addressing the need for more information about art and artists in Chicago.
Congratulations Mirjana on your first blog and interview — a job well done. Thank you Iris for participating in ArtStyle. Thank you everyone for your comments, and please pass the word about ArtStyle and what we are trying to accomplish.
Amy
The process of the blog is unique and opens up an innovative way to view and review one’s work. I found this interview to be informative, also really stimulating.It reveals the organic growth and direction in Iris’ work. Keep it coming!
Beautiful and enlightening interview! Iris, I love your work and this was a wonderful way to get to know you and your work more in depth through your history and influences. Thanks to ArtStyle for presenting you, and to Mirjana for the excellent interview!
Judith
I have shared many experiences, trips, and exhibits with Iris, including the Japan residency and other trips. She is a remarkable person and artist, who is always kind and generous.
It is always exciting and inspiring to see her installations, and watching her work in her studio is fascinating. Her sense of texture, form,space and color is always “right on”.
This interview is exceptionally well done.
Nice to hear about your work Iris. I shall take more time to look over it all. But I want to say bravo for the new experiences. When do you come to Paris ?
bises Mireille
Iris, I have known you and your art for a long time. I have to move away a little bit in order to try to verbalize a somewhat objective impression. I like your work very much, and that is its immediacy, its physicality and its poetry. You choose a metaphor for a thing or a feeling or doing and then you give it such sensual, crystallized expression in three dimensions and with color. It is very much and it feels as if there is nothing missing. It is a thoughtfully delivered baby. I like that you explained your process so well and I might like to utilize the same. It is a very inspiring technique.
I met Iris Goldstein and her family 17 years ago. She is a wonderful person and a great artist. I remember her art very well. I was happy to read this interview and see her art, the Hot Dog House etc. again. I come from Prague but currently I live in Zurich, Switzerland. I have lost contact with Iris but I would like to send her a personal letter by e-mail. Can you please send me her e-mail address? If it is not possible, please give her my best regards.
Many thanks.
Tereza Cloughesy (Sevcikova)
tcloughesy@volny.cz
Thanks for sending this interview on to me. It is both interesting and inspirational. Iris is an artist I’ve always respected and enjoyed working with at ARC.