Liz Chalfin
Artist Statement
I am interested in exploring thoughts and conversations people have with themselves and others, relationships people have with one another and the physical and metaphysical world. I try to do this through symbolism and abstraction. The figure forms are filled with imagery of plant and mineral - continuing a theme of life’s interconnectedness and humanity’s relationship to the natural world. The thoughts, conversations and ideas are represented with abstract gesture. Space is important. My work starts with photographs I take and then use to make paper stencils of the figures and photopolymer intaglio printing plates of the natural elements. I then print the figures, creating the relationships to one another and to the larger space. I use watercolor and ink to work back into the prints to add the abstracted thoughts and conversations.
Liz Chalfin is visual artist, master printer and visual arts educator. She is founder and director and resident artist of Zea Mays Printmaking in Florence, Massachusetts. Liz teaches workshops at Zea Mays and on the road at colleges and art centers nationally. Her work is in the collections of the Boston Public Library, the DeCordova Museum, the Portland Museum of Art, Smith College Museum of Art, Arkansas State University, among others. She has printed for Jessica Stockholder, Scott Prior, Ben Aronson and others. She is also adjunct faculty in Lesley University’s Creative Arts in Learning graduate program.
Florence, MA
liz@zeamaysprintmaking.com
www.lizchalfin.com