Deborah Wasserman was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, grew up in Tel Aviv, Israel, and currently resides in Queens, New York, one of the most diverse counties in the US. She is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program, Artists in the Marketplace at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and received two fellowships from the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She has exhibited in the United States at the Queens Museum, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, White Columns, Pierogi 2000, Socrates Sculpture Park, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, and A.I.R. Gallery.
Internationally, she has shown in Brazil, the Netherlands, Germany, and Israel. Wasserman has been the recipient of grants from the Experimental Television Center, Aljira Center for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, New York State Department of Cultural Affairs, The Puffin Foundation, Queens Council On The Arts, and the Citizens Committee for New York.
In 2020, she was a Finalist for the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in the category of Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts. Most recently, Wasserman was commissioned by the New York City Department of Transportation to create a public art piece.
"My ancestors were uprooted, expelled, and forced to wander. Throughout my life, I, too, have been a nomad and seeker. Painting landscapes became my way of deepening and extending my roots, reorganizing my travels, and seeking belonging. Born in Brazil, I grew up on the war-torn coasts of the Middle East and now reside in the USA. The Brazilian soil is lush and abundant, while the Middle Eastern terrain is dry and sun-scorched. I first encountered redwood forests in North America, as well as snowflakes and birch trees. Through my paintings, I express myself as the sum of those shared landscapes and the paradoxes that emerge between them. As our ecosystems collapse, I agonize through my work for the loss of yet another home, our earth. Throughout my solitary journey, I sought a nurturing mother but did not find her until I myself became a mother and made a home. In the studio, the Great Mother emerges from within me through luminous colors and shapes. I see her in nature, in mountains and soaring trees, and in lush plants and leaves. In my recent painting, “This Bitter Earth,” a larger-than-life woman is lying on the earth, her eyes closed. The terrain that envelops her body is scorched mountains, flooded valleys, and torn, afloat rugs. Fires and rings of smoke appear throughout. This woman represents Mother Earth and her ravaged, fallen kingdom. When I paint vistas with intricate textures of fantastical drips and spills, I let my body lead, sensual and intuitive. I start with layering, pouring, and mark-making to create the rich soil of the under paint. I render details but also expose the rawness of the canvas. I shift from abstraction to realism, from ink to acrylics and oil, mixing techniques and styles. Equality reigns on my canvas. I work on the floor, wall, and table, echoing the wanderer’s frequent migrations. Movement is crucial to my process. In these luminous ecosytems, another realm prevails – that of destruction, anguish, and despair. Grim scenes of sunken homes, fires, and uprooted trees morph into faces and hands that reach out to grasp and hold. Figures appear but remain indistinguishable from the land. Mountains, valleys, and oceans collapse into one chaotic and fractured terrain. I look at images from distant, disparate lands, letting them subtly inform my process and imagination as I build new terrains. I paint the prophecies of our times."
Tell us a little about yourself (where you are from) and your background in the arts.
I was born in Brazil and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. Since a young age, I was drawn to painting and attended a specialized high school. I then went on to study art as an undergraduate at the Tel Aviv School of Art, and later earned my MFA at CalArts.
After I graduated, I moved to NYC and have been here ever since, exhibiting, attending programs and residencies such as the Whitney ISP, A.I.M at the Bronx Museum, and Skowhegan. My art journey was nonlinear. I had many interruptions, setbacks, and even periods where I almost quit, as there were so many obstacles, some of them self imposed. I started as a painter, then transitioned to multi media, conceptual art and even performance. After a very long voyage, I returned to painting, which is what I do now.
What kind of work are you currently making?
About seven years ago, I started an exploration of identity, migration, climate change, and destruction, via the landscape. I'm inspired by Eco-Feminism and Jungian psychology, and explore the landscape as a metaphor for the human body, for motherhood, and for life and death. The soil is where we come from and where we end.
My paintings vary in size and are laden with texture, as I attach rags and torn clothes to their surfaces. Currently, I’m working on this series, and I aim to develop it further via richer palettes, more complex compositions, a richer painterly language, and even larger work.
What is a day like in the studio for you?
Early in the morning before I get to the studio, I try to find time to draw and write in a stream of consciousness—ideas, dreams, and sketches for future and current work. After I exercise and pack my lunch, I bike to the studio. I often have some administrative work to do, which I try to complete ASAP and then start painting. On the days that I don’t teach, I stay until late at night. I work while listening to music or podcasts. I love to get immersed in the process.
I work simultaneously on a few pieces and surfaces — large, small, paper, wood, and canvas. The various pieces nurture each and offer me fresh viewpoints when I get stuck. While at the studio, I love to be in the zone, forgetting about the outside world and losing notions of time and space. My daughters often say that I return from the studio ‘glowing’. I feel that I unburden myself from much of my load, as a lot of emotions get released during the process.
What are you looking at right now and/or reading?
I just came back from a trip overseas where I saw quite a lot of art. This weekend, I’m planning to go to the Whitney Biennial and possibly the Kate Kollwitz show at the MOMA. I’m reading a few books at once. One is called KARMA, and it’s a wonderful book by Sadguru, unraveling the various myths around this loaded term, and explaining the real workings of Karma. The other book is called Get the Picture, by Bianca Bosker, in which she shares the myths and inner workings of the artworld, from her perspective and research as a gallery intern. These two books balance each other. The former aims to explain the connection between intention, action, consequences as viewed in Hindu culture, and the latter studies the pretentiousness and hypocrisy of the NY Artworld, devoid of Equality, clear working parameters and shared values.
Where can we find more of your work? (ex. website/insta/gallery/upcoming shows)
Website: www.deborahwassserman.com
You may also join my mailing list via my website and receive my quarterly newsletters.
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