NEW YORK, NY.- On September 7, Nancy Hoffman Gallery opened Harvest, an exhibition of some 50 newly created terra-cotta sculptures by Judy Fox, made in her studio in Rhinebeck, New York. The sculptures depict fruits and vegetables, dynamic in form and palette, a veritable organic feast. Ranging in size from 30 inches to 3 inches, the works are painted in exquisite detail with casein paint.

Judy Fox’s recent work emerged amid isolation in the lush rural environment of the Hudson Valley. She moved to Rhinebeck in 2020, after 40 years living in New York City, prompted by COVID-19. The pandemic—a collective experience that has confronted us with the perils of disease, age, and dissociation—also informed Fox’s direction for this new body of work. Vulnerability emanates from the carefully crafted surface of each piece.

Harvest continues a migration from the painted figures that launched Fox’s sculpture practice in the 1980s. The installation presents a new set of biomorphic sculptures, now no longer orbiting a human character. Instead, a deep understanding of the body animates plant-based subjects.

Explains Nancy Hoffman, “The installation invites viewers to a sculptural banquet of sensualized fruits and veggies with wonderful deformities, displayed on long platforms. They are quite true to life.”

Continues Judy Fox, “Farm produce is cultivated to look tasty and robust. But these subjects are marred in ways that resonate with the viewer. Some are misshapen or diseased. Some are reminiscent of body parts, gestures, or cartoons. Appetite and anxiety are integrated, with humor

Nancy Hoffman Gallery
Judy Fox: Harvest
September 7th, 2023 - October 21st, 2023