Russo, Martha
Statement:
Before children have the language and cognitive skills to name an object, they explore the world with all of their senses. For instance, a chair is not a “chair” but rather something to climb on, to crawl under, and, perhaps, even to lick. With the acquisition of language and the awareness of the purpose of something, the investigations dwindle and the senses simmer. My hope is that people approach my work and stay with it because they are not quite sure what is going on: What are the forms? What are they made out of? How are clinging to the wall, suspended in space, or creeping along the floor?
In essence, I make abstract sculptures and installations to give people a place to let language and purpose slip away and to allow the senses to delight and to muse and the mind to wander and to wonder.
Bio:
Martha Russo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in developmental biology and psychology from Princeton University, 1985. Formerly a world-class athlete, she suffered a career-ending injury in 1984 while vying for a spot on the United States Olympic Field Hockey Team. After recovering from surgery, attracted to the physical nature of sculpture, Russo studied studio arts in Florence, Italy, and continued studying ceramics at Princeton University. In 1995, she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Martha exhibits her sculptures and installations nationally, most recently at The Santa Fe Art Institute, Denver Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art/ Denver. Also through the social and politically based art collective, Artnauts, Martha has shown her 2-dimensional works in over 160 exhibitions on 5 continents and counting. In addition to her studio practice, Martha has taught Fine Arts at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Lakewood, Colorado for the past 19 years and currently is a visiting lecturer at University of Colorado, Boulder. Martha is represented by the Claudia Stone Gallery in New York City. She lives in the mountains northwest of Boulder, Colorado with her husband and two children.
Martha has been a member of the Artnauts since 1996.
