Ava Gerber bio

ava gerber

Lives in Brooklyn New York
Studied at Columbus College of Art and Design (B.F.A., 1985) and Pratt Institute (M.F.A., 1987)

Artist's Statement:
My work is inspired by my personal experiences combined with my travels and interactions with other cultures. I am particularly interested in religion and ritual as it is portrayed visually. I have traveled quite extensively in Asia, Africa, the Carribean, Europe, and South America. I have studied African and Caribbean dance for the past nine years and have participated in numerous ceremonies during my travels. These adventures have given me a unique perspective with which to examine my own cultural customs. I use this culmination of cultural inspiration, combined with personal experience, as a means of producing what I consider visual poetry. My work quietly questions and comments on gender roles and utilizes materials in a metaphoric manner to illuminate ideas inspired by spirituality and alchemy.

Selected recent exhibitions

1999	Making It Up, Wake Forest University Fine Arts Gallery, North Carolina; Surface = Structure, Claremont Graduate University, California
1998	Loose Threads, Serpentine Gallery, London; Alternative Measures, Castle Gallery, College of New Rochelle, New York; Humble Country, D'Amelio Terras Gallery, New York City; Remix, Team Gallery, New York City, Sculpture-Figure-Woman, Oberoesterreichische Landesgalerie Linz, Austria
1997	Making It, Workspace Gallery, New York City; Autoportrait: The Calligraphy of Power, Exit Art, New York City; Working Out The Kinks, Kunstlerhaus, Berlin (traveled to Oslo Gallery, Oslo, Norway); Thread, Christinerose Gallery, New York City; Team Gallery, New York City
1996	Currents in Contemporary Art, Christies East, New York City; Louisiana, Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark; Galerie Elizabeth Valleix, Paris

Selected Grants and Awards
1998	American Center, Cite International Des Arts Paris, Residency
1997	Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Grantee Award
1995	Louise Bourgeois Endowed Residency, Yaddo Artist Colony The Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio, Italy
1994	Yaddo Artist Colony 1993 Change, Inc. Co, Grant
1992	Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Grantee Award