Zillman Art Museum - University of Maine
September 29, 2022

Contact:  Kathryn Jovanelli
               207.581.3370
               kathrynj@maine.edu
               www.zam.umaine.edu
               High resolution digital images available upon request

Zillman Art Museum (ZAM) announces Fall Exhibition

BANGOR – The Zillman Art Museum - University of Maine, located at 40 Harlow Street in downtown Bangor, has opened a new exhibition that will run through December 30, 2022. ZAM is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am - 5 pm and brings modern and contemporary art to the region, presenting approximately 21 original exhibitions each year.
Admission to the Zillman Art Museum is free in 2022 thanks to the generosity of Birchbrook.

ANAT SHIFTAN: LIFE & STILL
September 23 - December 30, 2022

Israel-born artist Anat Shiftan expands our conceptions of ceramics in this large-scale exhibition which features a
wall installation that spans over twenty feet, as well as recently created pedestal-based works. In the creation of the
41 works, which contain over 200 components, Shiftan has employed an array of production methods including slip
casting, wheel throwing, hand building and industrial artifacts.

In the "Phylla in Blue" wall installation, composed of 72 individual porcelain units, the repetition of delicate curled
forms produces a subtle undulating movement. While the tranquil pale celadon blue-glazed forms evoke the notion
of underwater flora, for the artist “nature is an invented image that exists only as an idea.” Shiftan states that “color
is a strong presence or absence in my work,” and this is demonstrated by compositions employing color in contrast
with others glazed in solid white. In "Still Life in White", the artist highlights the history of travel and trade in pieces that
draw connection to Greek, Chinese and European heritages.

Shiftan’s large-scale work, "Wallpaper in Green and Pink", seen for the first time in the Zillman exhibition, was created
in response to her readings on the objectives of wallpaper designs by the influential 19th century designer William
Morris. Similar to the aims of the designer, Shiftan states that, “My installation is a dimensional iteration of Morris’
statement on bringing nature back into our space” and to “regain the connection with nature.” In hues of chartreuse
green and pink tones, "Wallpaper in Green and Pink" consists of over 95 individually-sculpted components that
activate an expanse of gallery walls. The curved, extruded tubes terminate in an array of hand-built flower petals in
both semi-gloss and dark maroon lava glaze.

Anat Shiftan is Professor of Art at SUNY New Paltz, NY, where she is the head of the ceramics program. She has
exhibited extensively in both the U.S. and Israel and is represented by Hostler Burrows, NYC and LA.

Admission to ZAM is FREE in 2022 thanks to the generosity of Birchbrook.

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