About

Melissa Stern is an artist and journalist living in NYC.

Melissa has worked in sculpture, photography and drawing for over twenty years, exhibiting throughout the U.S., as well as Europe and Asia.  She has made a multi-media installation exhibition, The Talking Cure, that has been traveling to museums around the States. since 2012.  Her work is featured in a number of prominent corporate and museum collections including News Corporation,  JP Morgan, The Arkansas Art Center, the American Museum of Ceramic Art, Racine Art Museum, and the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis.

With a background in anthropology, Melissa’s work reflects both non-Western and outsider-art influences. Her drawings, collages, and figurative sculptures are richly drawn and deeply layered, with quirky, often dark humor.

“I work like a handyman cobbling together drawings and sculptures from elements found, borrowed, and imagined. I use a wide range of materials from encaustic to clay, pastel to steel. The drawings and sculptures, often made in tandem, resonate with one another, the ideas in one reinforcing the themes of the other. All of my pieces share a thematic thread. Childlike and goofy my figures live in a dream world, cower in relationships or stand tall in the face of adversity. They are at once dark and funny, expressive of the absurd world around them.”

Stern serves as a contributing writer for Hyperallergic, Art Critical, and ArtSpiel. She has covered major exhibitions on assignment throughout the world. She served earlier as the principle art critic for The New York Press. She is a past Board Director of The Children’s Museum of the Arts in NYC, Watershed Center in Maine and contributing curator of the Human Rights Film Festival from 2008-2015.

To receive Melissa’s bi-monthly art reviews, subscribe here.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2026    THE TALKING CURE- A Hug From the Art World , NYC

2024    A LEG TO STAND ON- Dimin Gallery, NYC

2023    HOUSEBROKEN- Kean University, Union ,NJ

2022    CHAT AND CHEW- Garvey Simon Projects, NY, NY

THE TALKING CURE- Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA

2021    HOUSEBROKEN- Peepshow Space, Brooklyn, NY

STRONGER THAN DIRT- Lockwood Gallery, Kingston, NY

2020    DOES SHE OR DOESN’T SHE? – Firecat Projects. Chicago, Ill.

2018    STRANGE GIRLS – Garvey Simon, NY, NY

THE TALKING CURE – Kranzberg Center for Contemporary Art.

2017    YOU’RE SOAKING IN IT – Station Independent Projects, NY, NY

2016    THE TALKING CURE – The Weisman Art Museum. Minn. MN

LOOSE LIPS – The Univ. of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.

THE TALKING CURE – Redux Contemporary Art Center, Charleston, SC

2015    THE TALKING CURE – Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT

2014    A YEAR IN PICTURES – SOPA Fine Arts, Kelowna, Canada

THE TALKING CURE – Akron Museum of Art, Akron Ohio.

2012    THE TALKING CURE – Smart Clothes Gallery, NY, NY (catalogue)         

THE TALKING CURE – Fetherston Gallery, Seattle, WA.

2011    NEW MATH- DRAWINGS – Fetherston Gallery, Seattle, WA

LIFE DURING WARTIME- Drawing exhibition Barbara Archer Gallery, Atla GA.

NEW SCULPTURE – SOPA Fine Arts, Kelowna, Canada

2009    STEP RIGHT UP – bahdeebahdu Gallery, Philadelphia PA

COMING UP FOR AIR – Fetherston Gallery, Seattle WA

LOOSE LIPS – Drawing Exhibition – Milsaps College, Jackson, MS

2008    A COMMON SPACE – Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, GA

2007    ABOVE THE BELT – Studioswan, Atlanta, GA

FAMILY VALUES – Gallery 31 North, Glen Gardner, NJ

2006    LOOSE LIPS – Drawing Exhibition – Zihlka Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT

BIRDLAND – David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN

2005    FAMILY VALUES – WeissPollack Gallery, NY, NY

2003    VACATION – Spike Gallery, NY, NY

MY FRIENDS – David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN

2002    BACK TO SCHOOL – The Children’s Museum of the Arts, NY, NY (catalogue)

2001    NEW WORK – Ballard Fetherston Gallery, Seattle, WA

THIRD GRADE – John Elder Gallery, NY, NY

2000    NEW WORK – Bachelier-Cardonsky, Kent, CT

1999    WAX WORKS – David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN

1997    DRAWINGS – Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA

1996    NEW SCULPTURE – Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT

1995    DRAWINGS – Mia Gallery, Seattle WA

1994    SMALL SCULPTURE – Diana Burke Gallery, NY, NY

1993    FRIENDS – Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA

1990    CHAIRS – ArtRages, Amsterdam, Netherlands

1988    NEW WORK – Primitivo Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1986    HOMESITES – Arts Council of San Mateo County, Belmont, CA

CHAIRS – Clodagh, Ross, Williams Gallery, NY, NY

Selected Group Exhibitions

2026 TWIST AND SHOUT- Metro Studios, Bridgeport, CT

2025    CARE CONDITION CONTROL- 601 Artspace, NY, NY

2024    THE DOLL SHOW- Kleinart Center , Woodstock, NY

2023    DRAWING +: CERAMIC INTO SCULPTURE- LIC Artist Assoc. NY

BRAVINLEE CERAMIC SHOW-BravinLee Gallery, NY, NY

EXPONENTIAL- Jessica Hagen Fine Art. Newport RI

OUT OF JOINT- The Boiler, Brooklyn, NY

RESTRINGING THE PEARL- The Jewelry Library, NY, NY

2022

• FEAR TO TREAD – Roger Williams Univ., Providence RI
• THE DOLL SHOW – Gallery Gaia, Brooklyn, NY
• BEHAVING BADLY – Lockwood Gallery, Kingston, NY

2020

• CLAYTOPIAN NEW YORK – Plaxall Art Center, LIC, NY
• DOMESTIC BRUTES – The Pelham Art Center, Pelham, NY

2019

• THE IMPOLITE AESTHETIC – Joseloff Gallery, University of Hartford, Hartford, CT
• BE MINE – LABspace, Hillsdale, NY
• DOMESTIC MATTERS – Peter’s Valley Art Center, NJ

2018

• SIZE MATTERS – 100 Bogart Street, NY, NY
• POP GOES THE WEASEL – Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, NY, NY
• THE BIG SMALL SHOW – Drawing Rooms. Jersey City, NJ

2017

• WE THE PEOPLE – SERVING NOTICE – The American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA

2016

• TALK TALK – Central Booking Gallery, NY, NY

2016

• COGNITIVE DISSONANCE – Spartanburg Museum of Art, Spartanburg, SC

2015

• MONEY, WHEELS AND RANDOM LEGS – Firecat Projects, Chicago, IL

2014

• PSYCHED – Central Booking Gallery, NY, NY
• COMPULSIVE NARRATIVES – Rutgers Univ., Camden, NJ

2013

• GALLERY ARTISTS – Archangel Gallery, Palm Springs, CA

2011

• NAMING THE ANIMALS – Curious Matter, Jersey City, NJ
• RETROFUTUREOLOGY – Observatory, Brooklyn, NY

2010

• PARADISO CONTRAPASTO – Observatory, Brooklyn, NY
• PILLOW CULTURE – Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY

2009

• THE SKETCHBOOK PROJECT, Traveling Exhibition – Arthouse, Atlanta, GA

2008

• CONFRONTATIONAL CERAMICS – curated by Judith Schwartz, Westchester Arts Council, Westchester, NY

2007

• FORMS OF OPULENCE – Allen Gallery, NY, NY
• HAVE A SEAT! – Beylerian Collection of Small Chairs – The Museum of Art and Design, NY, NY
• RED – Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
• THE INNER CHILD – The Hunterdon Museum of Art, Hunterdon, NJ

2006

• FIGURATIONS – Sopa Gallery, Kelowna, Canada
• MOTHERHOOD: THE MYTH, THE MAGIC, THE MADNESS – curated By Leslie Matthews, Design for Living Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2005

• NEW TALENT 2005 – Co-curated by the Museum of Ceramic Art, New York (MOCA/NY), and Weispollack Gallery, NY, NY
• 3RD WORLD CERAMICS BIENNALE 2005 – Ceramics: The Vehicle of Culture – Invitational exhibition, Icheon, Korea (catalogue)

2004

• PULP FICTION – bahdeebahdu Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2003

• ENCAUSTIC 2003 – Juried Exhibition, Poughkeepsie, NY (catalogue)

2002

• PUSHING CLAY – Univ. of Southern Maine, Portland, ME

2001

• R&F ENCAUSTICS – Juried Biennial – Kingston, NY (catalogue)

1998

• NEW TALENT – John Elder Gallery, NY, NY

1996

• INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS – The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA

1995

• NEW YORK CLAY – Traveling Exhibition, Stavanger, Norway (catalogue)

1994

• VIEWPOINTS – Bachelier Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT
• NEW GENERATION – Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY

1993

• HEADS OR TAILS – Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA

1992

• CHAIRS – Gallery of Functional Art, Santa Monica, CA
• FIGURATIVE CERAMICS – Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA

1991

• AND ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE – Gallery of Functional Art, LA, CA

1990

• SIGNS OF SUPPORT – FURNITURE FORMS IN CONTEMPORARY ART – John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI

1988

• ARTIST’S FURNITURE INVITATIONAL – Wita Gardiner Gallery, San Diego, CA
• THE AESTHETIC EDGE – Corvalis Art Center, Corvallis, OR
• IMAGINARY LANDSCAPES – Primitivo Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1987

• VIEWING THE FIGURE – University of Idaho, Moscow, ID

1986

• INAUGURAL EXHIBITION – Clodagh, Ross, Williams Gallery, NY, NY

1984

• INTROSPECTIVES – AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WORK BY WOMEN – Pyramid Art Center, Rochester, NY

1983

• THE AMERICAN CLAY NATIONAL – Downey Museum of Art, Downey, CA

Selected Publications/Reviews

• THE POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL – Art from Here. 20-Year Retrospective at The Lockwood Gallery, Kingston, NY. June 2021
• ARTSPIEL – Melissa Stern: Stronger Than Dirt. A 20-Year Retrospective. June 2021
• NEW CITY ART – Visual Art of Chicago. January 2021
• HEC TV – A visual portrait of the artist. St. Louis, January 2018. Watch on Youtube.
• NATIONALLY ACCLAIMED MULTIMEDIA INSTALLATION “THE TALKING CURE”, St. Louis Post Dispatch. January 2018
• “THE TALKING CURE” INVITES AUDIENCES TO BECOME PART OF THE ARTISTIC PROCESS – St. Louis Magazine, Jan. 2018
• TALKING CURE, TALKING HEADS – Minnesota Daily, September 7, 2016
• MELISSA STERN’S “THE TALKING CURE’ – South Carolina Public Radio, by Jeanette Guinn, June 21, 2016
• REDUX’S CURRENT EXHIBITION “THE TALKING CURE” IS MULTIFACETED – Charleston City Paper by Connelly Hardeway, July 15, 2016
• THE TALKING CURE AT REDUX CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER – Arts Daily, May 2016
• THE TALKING CURE: 12 SCULPTURES, 12 WRITERS, 12 ACTORS – Charleston Art Magazine by Marjorie Rawle, May 2016
• MONEY, WHEELS AND RANDOM LEGS – The Chicago Tribune, Oct. 15, 2015
• SCULPTOR INVITES WRITERS TO TELL THE STORIES OF HER WORKS AT REAL ART WAYS – The Hartford Courant Review, March 5, 2015
• DON’T MISS: FIGURES OF SPEECH – The Wall Street Journal, May 30, 2014
• MELISSA STERN: OFF BALANCE ART – Feature article, Wesleyan University Alumni Magazine, Fall 2013
• ARTnews – Review of The Talking Cure Exhibition, January 2013
• NEW YORK ARTS: THE TALKING CURE – Interview with Leah Oates, February 2013
• THE TALKING CURE – Catalogue of the Exhibition, 2012
• ART FOR THE EYES AND EARS: MELISSA STERN’S “THE TALKING CURE” IN NEW YORK – Dujour.com, December 2012
• NEW YORK ARTS – Nostalgic Confessions: Drawings by Melissa Stern, February 2009
• AMERICAN ILLUSTRATION 26: The Best American Illustrations of 2007, November 2007
• Review of BIRDLAND – The Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 21, 2006
• BIRDLAND – Catalogue published in conjunction with the Exhibition, David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN 2006
• CLAY IN ART INTERNATIONAL – Published by kerameiki techni, Athens, Greece, 2006
• TRANS-CERAMIC-ART – Catalogue of The 3rd World Ceramic Biennale, Published by Icheon World Ceramic Center, Icheon, Korea, 2005
• 500 FIGURES IN CLAY – by Veronika Gunter, Lark Books, Ashville, NC, 2004
• BACK TO SCHOOL – Catalogue essay by Paul Karlstrom, Published by The Children’s Museum of the Arts, New York, NY, Winter 2003
• CERAMIC FIGURES – by Michael Flynn, Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, 2002
• FORM & TRANS-FORMATIONS – Catalogue by Judith Schwartz, Queens, NY, 1997
• NEW YORK CLAY – Essay by Judith Schwartz, Exhibition catalogue, Rogaland Kunstnersenter, Norway, 1996
• THE NEW YORK TIMES – Sunday Review, December 15, 1996
• CHAIRMANIA – FANTASTIC MINIATURES by George Beylarian, Harry Abrams pub., New York, NY, 1994
• DAN’S PAPER – Review, Bridgehampton, New York, May 20, 1994
• EAST HAMPTON INDEPENDENT – Review, May 22, 1994
• THE NEW YORK TIMES – Sunday Review, August 2, 1992
• CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN ART CRAFT: A COLLECTOR’S GUIDE – Barbara Mayer, Peregrine Smith Books, Salt Lake City, UT, 1988
• PRONTO – Cover photograph and article, Vol. 4-5, Tokyo, Japan, 1988
• ARS AUREA – Magazine article, Berlin, Germany, Winter 1988

Grants/Awards

• AWARDED ARTIST RESIDENCY – Benyamini Center For Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2014
• AWARDED ARTIST RESIDENCY – The Washington School of Glass, Washington, DC, 2011
• AWARDED ARTIST RESIDENCY – The Serenbe Institute, Serenbe, GA, 2007
• SPONSORS AWARD: R& F Handmade Paint Juried Exhibition, 2001
• KOHLER FOUNDATION GRANT: Artist-in-Residence – Kohler Company, Sheboygan, WI, 1988 AND 1990

Selected Public Collections

• Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
• The Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN.
• International Center for Collage, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
• Library of Congress: Rare Books and Special Collections, Washington, DC
• Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY
• The Arario Gallery, Seoul, Korea
• Bear Stearns & Co. New York, NY
• News Corp Inc, New York, NY
• Davison Collection, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
• The Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AK
• Stavenger Museum, Stavenger, Norway
• The Metropolitan Home Magazine Design Collection, New York, NY
• The Kohler Company Collection, Sheboygan, WI
• Designtex, New York, NY

Education

1976-1980

BA Anthropology and Studio Art, Cum Laude with Honors in Anthropology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT

1982-1984

MFA Ceramics, State University of New York, New Paltz, NY