Buster Levi Gallery is pleased to present the solo exhibition, NANCY STEINSON: Drawings & Sculpture; the exhibition will run from June 5 – June 27, 2021. The gallery is located at 121 Main Street, Cold Spring, New York and is open Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 - 5:00 pm and by appointment.

The exhibition includes four drawings from each of two series – Summer Series and Falling Water as well as four steel sculptures (Violetta de Marte, Clendenin, Pacific Interior and Arcus I).

Primarily known as a sculptor, Steinson’s three-dimensional steel work is distinguished by curved or towering forms with surfaces of subtle, deep patinas. The artist states, “Important mentors in my work are both famous abstract artists of the early twentieth century., i.e., Constantin Brancusi and Barbara Hepworth. Perhaps the early New England churches of my youth, with their linear steeples and bell towers reaching to the heavens, which I admired and saw often – my mother was from New Hampshire – was a visual image I possibly absorbed and will never forget.” Novatio, (below, left) steel, paint is, perhaps, a quietly elegant reverential nod to this particular memory.

While most the artist’s work is free-standing or displayed on pedestals, many welded-steel pieces are wall-mounted, such as the Violetta de Marte.  (above right).

Steinson’s four mixed media drawings from Falling Water Series are inspired by hikes in the mountains of New Hamphshire with its cascading waterfalls. The black medium adds to the abstracted drama of the falls and the artist’s process of building up surfaces with color, line and texture suggests an emotionally engaged and attuned participant in the natural world.

Falling Water Series #4, Mixed media on paper (above)
Summer Series drawings recall a particularly intense heat wave in New York City in 2005. Using oil stick, the artist imagined herself under water, keeping cool and meeting sea animals and experiencing the sun on the shining water while submerged. The nuances of the surfacing process, combined with the almost monochromatic palette, create a shimmering, fluid reverie of glowing calm.

Nancy Steinson was born in Louisville, Kentucky. An advocate of human rights and racial justice from an early age, she went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Louisville. Coming to New York in 1958, she initially worked at International House; she soon realized, however, that she was very attracted to and seduced by the arts. She began to study sculpture under Peter Agostini at Columbia University School of the Arts and went on to earn a Master of Arts Degree in Art Education from Columbia University Teachers College. Since then, her work has been exhibited in many galleries and museums around New York as well as at national and international venues. (Her most recent show in the city was with Anita Shapolsky Gallery, Off the Wall; September 15, 2020 – January 8, 2021). Her sculptures are in numerous private and corporate collections both here and abroad. This is her second solo exhibition with Buster Levi Gallery. Steinson currently lives and works in Beacon, New York with her dog, Molly.

Visit nancysteinson.com / Contact: Nancy Steinson 917.734.1145