Collection: Nancy Agati

Bio

Nancy Agati’s work addresses transformations and patterns in nature through physical investigations of materials. Her multidisciplinary work includes; works on paper, sculpture, textile, site-specific installation, and public art. 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 widely throughout Philadelphia and nationally including exhibitions at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, Hillyer Art Space, Washington, DC, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, NY, The Calandra Italian American Institute, NY, Crane Arts Building, Philadelphia, and Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia.

Several exhibitions have allowed for experimentation with video, public participatory art, ephemeral works, and augmented reality. Nancy has been a recurring participant with Art in the Open, Philadelphia, where, in 2014, she conducted a community carving event entitled Churn Ripple Flow along the Schuylkill River. A similar project took place in 2015 on the Hudson Bay which culminated in the construction of the sculpture Ripple Effect at the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art on Staten Island. The movement of water has been a recurring subject of Agati’s work. Her essay, entitled Noticing Water, was published by Cleaver Literary Magazine in 2014.

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. Her time spent in Southern Italy initiated several bodies of work, including Portico Series, Ottanta Sette, and Francesca Series. Three works from the Portico Series are included in the permanent collection at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. In 2014, as a Hemera Foundation Tending Space Fellow, Agati began investigating the intersection of mindfulness meditation as it relates to her art making process.

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. I am interested in elements that communicate the passage of time and illustrate cyclical occurrences. Drawing is an essential aspect of my work, defined in the broadest of terms and developed through multiple methods. Content or concept determines the process and material used for works that often straddle a line between drawing and sculpture. I work in a range of mediums, from works on paper to sculpture, installation, and public participatory projects. My work 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 projects and temporal works that respond directly to place, time, and visual perception. Several projects have incorporated aspects of meditation, viewer interaction, and public participation. It is my intention to present my art as a means for reflection, to allow the viewer to take note of something that may have gone unnoticed."