ARTIST STATEMENT
Silk organza portrays weight beyond its intrinsic ephemeral nature, conveying multiple perspectives through its translucent properties and embodying inherent contrasts in subject matter when combined with metal and other hardware.
I explore sexuality/sensuality, gender fluidity, procreation, and transformation in both a personal and political context, reflective of my identity as a woman in a sexist and ageist society, and my work attempts to formulate an idea of female autonomy. Responding to current events and to contemporary perspectives of younger generations, enables insight into diverse viewpoints. I am a Sixties boomer, now in my Seventies, and have practiced art and music my entire life. I have practiced meditation for twenty years.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Deborah Hirshfield was born and raised in Chicago and Evanston, Illinois. She was encouraged at a very early age by her mother, Pearl Hirshfield, a working artist, to express herself through visual art. Deborah matriculated from The American High School in Mexico City, Mundelein College in Chicago, and from Columbia College in Chicago. She is retired from teaching music and art in Chicago Public Schools, and also taught art at recreational and university levels as well as at the Instituto del Arte in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She has one son, an artist, with Brian Garrick, a sculptor. Her work in in private collections and the Illinois State Museum.
© Deborah Hirshfield