Biography:
Lita Kelmenson’s work in cast polyester resin and wood sculpture has been exhibited in New York and throughout the United States including dm contemporary (NY City), the Heckscher Museum, Parrish Art Museum, Nassau County Museum (Long Island), Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens (FL), Mason Murer Fine Art (GA), Rose Gallery District West Fine Art (VA), and the Silvermine Guild Arts Center (CT). Awards have included at the Heckscher Museum Biennial, Art League of Long Island, Firehouse Gallery, Nassau Community College, the National Assoc. of Women Artists Medal of Honor and Nassau County Museum of Fine Art.
Reviews of her work have appeared in The New York Times by Helen Harrison and Phyllis Braff, Newsday by Malcolm Preston, Jeanne Paris and Steve Parks and the Newark Star Ledger by Eileen Watkins. Her work is represented in public and private collections including the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, NJ. She is listed in R.R. Bowker “Who’s Who in American Art”. Teaching and interacting with students has been a large part of her life at both public schools and colleges as an Adjunct Assoc. Prof. Included in these are Hofstra Un., Dowling College, Adelphi Un. and Nassau Community College.
Born in Buffalo, NY she has maintained her residence and studio on Long Island since 1955.
Resume: Email - litakel@yahoo.com
SCULPTURE IN WOOD, CAST POLYESTER RESIN, DRAWINGS
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2019 "Questioning", Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Huntington, NY
2016 “Commentaries”, Gallery West, Suffolk County Community College, Michael J. Grant Campus, Brentwood, NY
1997 Plandome Gallery, Plandome, NY
1993 Gallery at Bryant Library, Roslyn, NY
1990 ”Reinvention Factor”, Gallery at Port Washington Library, Port Washington, NY
1985 “Inner Visions”, b.j. spoke gallery, NY
1981 “Journey of the Mind”, b.j. spoke gallery, NY
1981 Mari Galleries of Westchester, Ltd., Mamaroneck, NY
AWARDS & HONORS:
2014 Award, Long Island Biennial, Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY
2012 Friday Gallery Talk, Long Island Biennial Artists, Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY
2007 Award, “Body and Soul”, Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery, ALLI, Huntington, NY
1994 Permanent Collection, “A View of One’s Own”, NAWA, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers
University, NJ
1992 Cleo Hartwig Memorial Award, NAWA, Federal Building, NY
1990 Medal of Honor and Amelia Peabody Memorial Award, NAWA, Federal Building, NY
1989 Chase Manhattan Community Award, “National Works on Paper Competition ’89”, Firehouse
Gallery, Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY
1988 Special Award, “First Open Juried Exhibition”, Nassau County Museum of Fine Arts, Roslyn, NY
1980 Jeffrey Childs Willis Memorial Prize, NAWA, Federal Building, NY
1976 First Award Sculpture, National Juried Exhibition, Bay Shore, NY
1973 Award of Excellence, Long Island Crafts Guild, Nassau Community College, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2019 "Art/Craft:The Essence of Materials", Omni Gallery, Uniondale, NY
2018 "Accord/Discord", Gallery West, Brentwood, NY
2017 "The Summer Show", dm contemporary, New York, NY
2014 “(in)grained”, 5 wood sculptors, dm contemporary, New York, NY
Heckscher Museum Biennial, Huntington, NY
2013, 2012, 2011, 2009 “Summer Show”, dm contemporary, New York, NY
2012 Heckscher Museum Biennial, Huntington, NY
2010 Heckscher Museum Biennial, Huntington, NY
2009 Robeson Gallery, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Center for Book Arts, New York, NY, Books represented on Web Site
2008 dm Contemporary, Mill Neck, NY
2007 “Personal Totems”, Ruth S. Harley University Center Gallery, Adelphi Un., NY
“Body and Soul”. Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery, HTAL, Huntington, NY
“Made in the USA”, The Blue Hill Art & Cultural Center, Pearl River, NY
2005 “3DeLuxe”, Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
Parrish Art Museum, “39th Juried Exhibition” Southampton, NY
2004 Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
2003 “Derived From Wood”, Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Gardens, Ormond Beach, FL
“Art of the Northeast”, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
2002 “Interactive Elements, Mixed Media Sculpture”, Omni Gallery, Garden City, NY
“Reflections”, Mills Pond House, St. James, NY
Rose Gallery, District West Fine Art, Leesburg, VA
2001 Grounds For Sculpture, Summer Exhibition, Hamilton, NJ
2000 “Different Directions”, Nese Alpan Gallery, Roslyn, NY
“Men”, Denise Bibro Gallery, Chelsea, NY
Millennium Gallery, East Hampton, NY
1997 ”Five Faculty Members”, Firehouse Gallery, Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY
1996 “Hoyt National Art Show”, Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts, New Castle, PA
ISE Art Foundation, SoHo, NY
“Figure as Form”, Gallery Emanuel, Great Neck, NY
1995 “Buoys: Marking the Place”, Alternative Space, TriBeCa, NY
“Summer Times Three”, b.j. spoke gallery, Invitational, Huntington, NY
1994 “Artist’s Choice 5”, Northport/b.j. spoke gallery, Huntington, NY
1993 dupont Gallery, Washington & Lee University, VA
1992 “Social Stigmas”, TriBeCa 148 Gallery, TriBeCa, NY
1991 Fine Arts Museum of Long Island, “Tenth Annual Juried Exhibition”, Hempstead, NY
“The Transformation of Matter into Art”, The New York Academy of Sciences, NY
1990 Partnership for the Homeless Benefit Auction, Christies, NY
1987 The Monmouth Museum of Fine Arts, NJ
National Education Association, Washington, DC
1986 Wunch Art Center, Glen Cove, NY
“Palace Place”, Isis Gallery, Woodbury, NY
“10th Anniversary Exhibition”, b.j. spoke gallery, Port Washington, NY
1985 “International Juried Art Competition, Mussavi Art Center, NoHo, NY
“Beyond the New”, Pleiades Gallery, SoHo, NY
1983 Bergen Community Museum, Paramus, NJ
1982 “In the Best Tradition”, Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY
“North Shore Artists’ Choices, Shadow Box Gallery, Glen Cove, NY
1978 Sculpture Garden, Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
1977 “Figurative Variations”, Hansen Galleries, SoHo, NY
Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
Julies, Artisans House, Madison Ave., NY, Plastic Jewelry
1976 Islip Town Art Gallery (currently Islip Art Museum), Board of Advisors Exhibit
EDUCATION:
S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo B.S. cum Laude
Albright Art School, Buffalo, N.Y. Scholarship
Columbia University, N.Y. Graduate Studies
Queens College, C.U.N.Y. M.S.
REVIEWS AND RELATED INFORMATION:
NEWSDAY
PULSE Magazine, 10/25/2010, Pat Rogers, “Long Island Biennial on View”
NEW YORK TIMES, 4/4/02, Helen Harrison, “Interactive Elements”
GALLERY & STUDIO, 1/2/2001, “The Female Strikes Back”
NEW YORK TIMES, 7/9/95, Helen Harrison, “Grace and Intrigue Highlight Sculpture”
NEW YORK TIMES, 7/10/94, Helen Harrison, “Using Recent Events as a Theme for Social Commentary”
NEW YORK TIMES, 1/15/89, Phyllis Braff, “Inner Concepts, Outer Forms”
NEW YORK TIMES, 1/17/88, Phyllis Braff, “Gallery Retains Group Spirit”
NEW YORK TIMES, 2/8/87, Phyllis Braff, “Energetic Work Adds Sparkle to a Diversified Group show”
NEW YORK TIMES, 1/5/86, Phyllis Braff, “Highlights of an Anniversary”
NEW YORK TIMES, 1/23/83, Phyllis Braff, “Paper That Stimulates Artistic Creativity”
NEWARK STAR LEDGER, 9/4/83, Eileen Watkins, “Nat’l. Assoc, of Women Artists Exhibits in Bergen”
NEW YORK TIMES, 1/10/82, Helen Harrison, “New Approaches to Social Art”
NEWSDAY, 1/12/82, Malcolm Preston, “Social Commentaries”
NEWSDAY, 1/15/82, Jeanne Paris
NEWSDAY, 2/3/81, Malcolm Preston, “Small Works”
NEWSDAY, 8/19/80, Malcolm Preston, “Rewarding Works by Newcomers at the Gallery Odin”
CRAFT HORIZONS, 6/78, Dido Smith, “New York Media Mix”
LONG ISLAND PRESS, 1/14/73, Jeanne Paris, “Group Show”
R.R. Bowker, Who’s Who in American Art; Who’s Who in American Women, 15th Edition; Who’s Who in New York
Photos of work: “The Sculpture Reference”, Arthur Williams, Sculpture Books Publishing, Gulfport, MS, 2005
Photos of work: “Crafting with Plastics”, Thelma Newman, Chilton Book Co., PA, 1975
Publication of Articles: THE GRAPHIC, 4/84; “Art Education” Journal of the National Art Education Assoc., 7/85, “The NYSATA Bulletin”, Journal, NY State Art Teachers Assoc., Spring/Summer 1988
PUBLIC COLLECTION: Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS: Mr. & Mrs. Epstein, Willmington, Delaware; Carla Reuben, Mari Galleries of Westchester Ltd.; Howard Rosengarten, Esq., L.I.; Gwen Karnes, L.I.; Mr. & Mrs. A Rosenman, L.I.; M. & M. Weissbach, L.I.
COLLEGE TEACHING: (Adjunct Associate Professor)
Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY 1990-2002 Adelphi University, Garden City, NY 1974
Dowling College, Oakdale, NY 1987-1992 Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 1975,76