MARTHA EDELHEIT

bio

Martha Nilsson Edelheit was born in New York City, and lived there most of her life. She moved to rural Sweden in 1993. She has been exhibiting in solo and group exhibitions since 1960. Her solo exhibitions started in New York City at the Reuben Gallery, and include shows at Byron, AIR, Artists Space, Judson, and SOHO20. Other US solo exhibitions include Rutgers University (NJ), Wilson College (Chambersburg, PA), Evanston Art Center (Evanstown, MA) and OK Harris (Provincetown, MA). She Has been in group shows at The Whitney Museum, The Guggenheim Museum, The Queens Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, The New York Cultural Center, The New School Art Center, and the Wadsworth Atheneum. She has shown extensively in Stockholm, Finland, Germany and Austria. She was an Artist-in-Residence at The Art Institute of Chicago, and at the Wilson College (PA), a guest lecturer at Montclair State Cllege (NJ) and the New School (NY), and a visiting artist at the California Institute of the Arts. Nilsson Edelheit made experimental films in the 70’s which were shown widely in Europe and the United States. One, Shown at The Museum of Modern Art (NY), is in the Donnel Library Collection. Her work is in many private collections in Europe and United States.

https://marthaedelheit.com/home.html

statement

“We inhabit a world today that is filled with extreme threat and violence, the destruction of our natural environment, and the disastrous abuse of our resources, human and natural.

Everyday we are confronted with images of overwhelming despair, dissolving ice, dying lakes, and encroaching deserts.There are still parts of this world that provide images of continuity, beauty, stability and survival.

Immersed in the Swedish country-side, I look at these elements every day.

I want to convey these possibilities, these vibrant pastures, in my work.” — Martha Edelheit

work

1960s:

Sno White in Tripliket
1966
Watercolor on paper
Sylvia Sleigh Collection, Rowan University Art Gallery, Glassboro, NJ

Circus Tree and Ring Mistress
1961
Ink and watercolor on rice paper
Approx. 12 x 18 in.

Dream of the Tattooed Lady
1961
Ink and watercolor on rice paper
11 7/8 x 17 7/8 in.
On view in Inventing Downtown: Artist-Run Galleries in New York City, 1952-1965 at Grey Art Gallery, New York University (January 10 through April 1, 2017).
Grey Art Gallery

2000-present:

Starry Night in Kiruna
2007
Acrylic, papier-mâché, and chicken wire
59 x 46 in.
Private collection

Lavender Sky
2006
Acrylic, papier-mâché, and chicken wire
59 x 46 1/4 in.

Walking Around the Edges of the Night
2005
Acrylic, ink, steel wire, papier-mâché, and chicken wire
38 5/8 x 37 1/2 in.