Nancy Agati and Rebecca Schultz, WATER TABLE, Site-specific art installation, Gravel, stone, shell, sand, sea glass, recycled glass, and mulch, 16' x 12' x 6", 2021. Image courtesy of the artists.
October 20, 2021
Amie Potsic interviews environmental artist Nancy Agati about her new public art installation in Atlantic City, solo show at No. 5 Butchie Alley in Philadelphia, and current exhibition Celebration of Trees.
Nancy Agati is a Philadelphia artist who works in multiple disciplines. Agati holds a BFA from Alfred University, School of Art & Design, NY, and an MFA from The University of the Arts, Philadelphia. She has exhibited her work throughout Philadelphia and nationally including exhibitions at The Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Hillyer Art Space, Washington, DC, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, NY, The Calandra Italian American Institute, NY, and at Art in the Open, Philadelphia.
Her most recent installation project, Water Table, was just completed in August 2021. The permeable surface ground installation at the Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City was created in partnership with artist Rebecca Schultz, the Atlantic City Arts Foundation, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for the New Jersey Coastal Climate Resilience Project. 2019 projects include Evident Cycle a floating spiral sculpture commissioned for the FLOW exhibit at the Independent Seaport Museum and Crated and Shipped an installation made from infested Ashwood for the We All Fall Down exhibition at The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. Agati has been a recipient of a Windows of Opportunity Award from the Leeway Foundation and has been awarded artist residencies at the Santa Fe Art Institute, New Mexico, Lo Studio dei Nipoti, Calabria, Italy, and Main & Station, Nova Scotia. A Tending Space Fellowship from the Hemera Foundation initiated Agati’s ongoing exploration of the intersection of mindfulness meditation as it relates to her art-making process.
Nancy Agati and Rebecca Schultz, WATER TABLE, Site-specific art installation, Gravel, stone, shell, sand, sea glass, recycled glass, and mulch, 16' x 12' x 6", 2021. Image courtesy of the artists.
Nancy Agati and Rebecca Schultz, WATER TABLE, Site-specific art installation, Gravel, stone, shell, sand, sea glass, recycled glass, and mulch, 16' x 12' x 6", 2021. Image courtesy of the artists.
Nancy Agati, WATER TABLE process image, Site-specific Art Installation, Gravel, stone, shell, sand, sea glass, recycled glass, and mulch, 16' x 12' x 6", 2021. Image courtesy of the artist.
Nancy Agati, Francesca 3, Mixed media on paper, 29.75”x 30”, 2019
Statement
”My work begins with an examination of visual relationships and transformations found in nature. Influences include objects in nature that reveal a sense of order, elegance, and geometry. I utilize natural forms such as patterns of moving water and flow-like organic structures to describe or define visual systems that reference our human connection to nature. My work, which often straddles a line between drawing and sculpture, fluctuates from visual explorations that present beauty and order to projects that reveal decay, chaos, or endangerment to the natural world. I have developed site-specific installations and temporal sculptures that respond directly to place, time, and visual perception. Several projects have incorporated aspects of meditation, viewer interaction, and public participation. “ -Nancy Agati
To learn more about Nancy Agati’s work, visit: https://www.nancyagati.com/