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Martha Sturdy

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  • Comment: What establishes notability here is museum collections or major art reviews. SwisterTwister talk 21:28, 15 February 2017 (UTC)

Martha Sturdy (born 1942) is a Canadian artist and designer. Sturdy gained international attention for her iconic wearable sculpture in the late 1970s, which evolved into further series of sculptural home furnishings using resin, steel, brass and salvaged cedar.[1] Sturdy’s studio has since expanded to provide custom furniture, fixtures and artworks for fashion, retail and hospitality clients including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, and Louis Vuitton.[1]

Early Life

Martha Varcoe was born in 1942 in Vancouver, British Columbia.[2] She received her BFA in visual arts from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design,[2] graduating in 1978.[3]

Career

Early in her career, Sturdy was forced to adapt the proportions of her work due to the limited resources of a young art school graduate.[2] She went on to gain an international reputation as a leader in functional art and design,[4] with her wearable sculptures being featured in Elle, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar as well as in the runway shows of fashion designers like Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta, Marc Jacobs, and Calvin Klein.[5][6] As Martha’s studio grew, she was able to create larger pieces, expanding to make custom furniture and fixtures and artworks.[2]

Sturdy's work spans wall, standing steel, salvaged wood and wearable sculpture, focused on natural monumentality and resolved, balanced composition to the intent of reflecting anew the proportions of our environment. In The Wall Street Journal, Sarah Medford described Sturdy's 2017 piece "Steel Screen" as "serene as an Asian landscape painting and, at 10 feet tall by 8 feet wide fully extended, as powerful as a mural."[7]

Sturdy exhibits her work at various international design trade fairs, including Maison et Objet in Paris.[7] Sturdy is represented by Orie Gallery, in Tokyo, Duthie Gallery, Salt Spring BC[8] and Winsor Gallery, Vancouver BC.[9]

Awards and commissions

In 2002 Sturdy was presented with a Golden Jubilee Award by the Governor General[10] for her achievements internationally as a Canadian artist and in 2005 she was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA). In 2010 Martha was commissioned for a permanent installation in the Vancouver Olympic Village, followed in 2012 by a permanent installation in downtown Tokyo, Japan.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b O'Kelly, Emma (November 30, 2015). "Quiet reflections on a frozen landscape-Telegraph". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d Keillor, Rebecca (2016-06-10). "The Home Front: Martha Sturdy carves path as an artist and designer". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2017-03-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  3. ^ "Gold&Grey, quando gli opposti si attraggono - AD". AD (in Italian). 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  4. ^ Todd, Stephen (2017-01-31). "Inside the remote home and studio of Canadian artist Martha Sturdy". Vogue.com.au. Retrieved 2017-03-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  5. ^ Kelly, Deirdre (August 14, 2014). "Design doyenne Martha Sturdy's two fresh passions". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-03-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  6. ^ von Hahn, Karen (October 15, 2014). "Martha Sturdy returns to jewelry with signature style". Toronto Star. Retrieved March 1, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  7. ^ a b Medford, Sarah (2017-02-02). "Maison & Objet 2017: Best in Show from Paris Design Fair". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  8. ^ "Martha Varcoe Sturdy". Duthie Gallery. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  9. ^ "Vancouver artist Martha Varcoe Sturdy joins Winsor Gallery". Vancouver Sun. September 17, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  10. ^ General, The Office of the Secretary to the Governor. "The Governor General of Canada". Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  11. ^ "MARTHA STURDY — The Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver". www.casv.ca. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
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