Kerry Schuss Gallery

Press Release

Alice Mackler's second solo exhibition presents two new bodies of work produced since her first solo show at Kerry Schuss two years ago. Displayed on pedestals of varying heights down the center of the gallery, Ms. Mackler's twelve colorful ceramic figures call to mind ancient fertility sculptures like the Venus of Willendorf as well as modern versions of the female form by Rodin, Jean Dubuffet, Willem DeKooning and Niki de St. Phalle. Each piece represents a female figure with a distinct form and personality. Together as a whole they create a feeling of community or a parade because of their shared colors and features.

Ms. Macklers ongoing preoccupation with the female figure also appears in another new series featuring photographs of models and entertainers cut from fashion magazines, glued to canvas boards and painted over in confetti-like gestures. In these vibrant collages, Mackler meditates on ideals of female beauty while negotiating between painterly and photographic realities. The forms of the models' bodies and colors of their clothing directly relate to Mackler's sculptures and support one and the other.

Alice Mackler, born in 1931 in New York City, has been making art most of her life, but only very recently has been showing her work and receiving recognition. She studied at the Arts Students League and received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Alice Mackler's work first came to notice in the group exhibition curated by Joanne Greenbaum in 2013 at James Fuentes Gallery. Mackler's work was singled-out in reviews by Roberta Smith in the "New York Times" and Andrew Russeth in the "New York Observer". Alice Mackler was included the article, "6 Artists Who Made It Big After Turning 70" by Julia Halperin in "Blouin Artinfo". Mackler's first solo show at Kerry Schuss in 2013 was reviewed "Artforum" by David Rhodes, "New York Observer" by Will Heinrich, "Timeout New York" by Anne Doran." and the "Huffington Post" by Katherine Brooks.