Nurielle Stern

CERAMIC SCULPTURE & INSTALLATION ARTIST
works | exhibitions | bio & cv | writings | press | studio | news

 

artist bio  

Nurielle Stern creates sculptural ceramic objects and immersive installations that often combine ceramics and other media.

Her pieces are saturated with texture and vibrant glazes giving them a hyper-real quality.

In her work, Nurielle makes tangible a fictional world of her own imagining creating things at once strange and familiar.

Ceramic, inert and opaque, has a transubstantial  ability to mirror the thrumming life-like quality of things. Worked by human hands, it appears to retain some of their liveliness. Through my work, I navigate the malleability of language, the role of maker as storyteller, and the dialectics of inside and outside—the tamed and the wilderness.   

Nurielle Stern is a Toronto-based sculpture and installation artist, and a graduate of Alfred University’s MFA program in Ceramic Art (2014, NY).  

Stern’s recent solo exhibitions include Fable, a large-scale commission for the Gardiner Museum’s new Joan Courtois Gallery, 2019-2021. Stern’s collaborative exhibition with artist Nicholas Crombach, Whale Fall, was shown at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in 2019, and at Queen’s University’s Union Gallery in 2021. Their duo exhibition, Petrichor, took place in towo gallery spaces at the MacLaren Art Centre in 2023.

Stern is the 2019 recipient of the national Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramic Art and the 2020 NCECA Emerging Artist Award fellow. In winter 2020, she participated in an invitation-only residency at California State University, Long Beach Center for Contemporary Ceramics.

Nurielle Stern is the founder of The Lost & Found Project Space, a new artist-led exhibition and programming space in downtown Toronto with the aim of providing opportunities for under-represented artists.   

www.deepbreathely.com

 

curriculum vitae

Education

 
2012-2014
New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University: Master of Fine Arts in Ceramic Art.
2009-2012
Sheridan Institute of Technology: School of Craft & Design. Major:Ceramics.
2003-2007
Ontario College of Art & Design University, Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. Major: Sculpture & Installation.
2005-2006
OCAD Florence Program. Florence, Italy.

Solo, Duo, and Collaborative Exhibitions

2023
MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie ON. Petrichor. Duo exhibition with Nicholas Chrombach. Curated by Sheila McMath.
2021
Union Gallery, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON. Whale Fall. Collaborative exhibition with Nicholas Crombach.
2021-2022
Gardiner Museum (Park Hyatt Hotel), Toronto, ON. Fable. Curated by Sequoia Miller.
2019-2021
Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON. Fable. Commissioned installation for the new Joan Courtois Stairwell Gallery. October 17, 2019 - March 2021. Curated by Sequoia Miller.
2019
Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON. Whale Fall. Collaborative exhibition with Nicholas Crombach. July 2 - September 8.
2019
Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON. Unswept Floor (Tesserae). Commissioned sculpture in response to Ai WeiWei: Unbroken. February 28- June 9. Curated by Sequoia Miller.
2015
Gardiner Museum. Toronto, ON. The Bone Runners: A Scotiabank Nuit Blanche Independent Project. October 3 - 4.
2014
Cohen Center for the Arts Gallery. Alfred, NY. Liquid & Bone: MFA Thesis Exhibition. August 23 - 26.
2013
Gardiner Museum. Toronto, ON. Eyes of Metal and Agate: Gardiner Museum Sheridan Prize Winner. November 14 – January 5, 2014.

Selected Group Exhibitions

2023
McIntosh Gallery, Western University, London, ON. The Life Cycle of Celestial Objects Parts I & II. Collaborative work with writer Nancy Jo Cullen. Curated by Helen Gregory.
2022
Craft Ontario, Toronto, ON. Craft Award Recipient Exhibition.
2021-2022
Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington, ON. How to Read a Vessel. Curated by Suzanne Carte, Ness Lee, Su-Ying Lee, & Christine Saly-Chapman.
2021
Art Mûr, Montreal, QC. Terra Nova: Looking at the present and the future. Art Mûr’s 25th Anniversary Exhibition.
2019
Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON. 2019 Winifred Shantz Award. Winner. September 21 - November 17.
2018
Steuben Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY. In Between the Lines. Invitational. November 30-December 16.
2018
Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON. Sculpting New Reads. Invitational. September 21-23.
2017
Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON. The Brain Project: The Pith & Nectar. Commissioned by the Telus Health Brain Project and the Gardiner Museum. July 11- August 31.
2017
Sheridan Gallery, Oakville, ON. First/50. Invitational Alumni Exhibition. April 29-May 12.
2016
Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington, ON. Materialize: Craft Ontario juried show. September 23- November 28.
2016
John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto, ON. Craft Ontario 40th Anniversary Craft Awards Exhibition. July 26- August 19.
2016
Hoop Gallery, Hamilton, ON. Revival. April 23 - June 3.
2015
Canadian Sculpture Centre, Toronto, ON. 15th Annual Emerging Sculptors Exhibition. Juried exhibition. August 13 - September 2.
2015
Harbourfront Centre. Toronto, ON. Every So Often: Curated by Melanie Egan and Patrick Macaulay. January 24 - June 14.
2013
The Belfry. Hornell, NY. Terra Firma: Class of 2014 Alfred Ceramics Grad Students. September 20 – October 25.
2013
NCECA Conference, 2013. Heritage Plaza Lobby Gallery. Houston, Texas. NCECA Energy of the Future: Juried show. March 19 - March 22.
2013
Aurora Cultural Centre. Aurora, ON. Fireworks 2011: FUSION Juried show. February 8 - April 6.
2013
Burlington Arts Centre. Burlington, ON. Fireworks 2011: FUSION Juried show. May 30.
2012
MADE Cooler. Toronto, ON. Half a Dozen: July 28- August 25.
2012
Canadian Sculpture Centre. Toronto, ON. 17th Annual Juried Graduating
Sculpture Student Exhibition
: Sculptors Society of Canada. June 7 – July 13.
2012
Craft Ontario Gallery and Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts. Toronto, Ontario. Here & (T)here: Sheridan Craft & Design Graduate Exhibition. April 11 – 22.
2012
 Gardiner Museum. Toronto, Ontario. Sheridan College Graduate Show.
March 22- April 1.
2012
Sheridan Gallery. Oakville, Ontario. Together in Clay. February 3- 17.
2012
Interior Design Show: Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Toronto, Ontario. Sheridan Craft & Design Booth. January 26-29.
2011
Labspace Studio. Toronto, Ontario. In Memory: Something that Happens after then, and before now. August 19-24.
2011
Art Gallery of Mississauga. Mississauga, Ontario. Fireworks 2011: FUSION Juried show. September 15 to November 6.
2011
Craft Ontario Gallery. Toronto, Ontario. Fireworks 2011: FUSION Juried show. May 12-29.
2009
Edward Day Gallery and Kiwi Gardens. Perth, Ontario. 2009 Kiwi Sculpture Garden Project. May-September.

Selected Grants and Awards

2022
Craft Ontario, Helen Copeland Memorial Award.
2021
Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant. (Collaborative with Nicholas Crombach).
2021
Ontario Arts Council, Project Grant.
2021
Canada Council, Arts Abroad Grant.
2020
Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant.
2020
NCECA Emerging Artist Award.  National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. USA.
2019
Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics.  The Keith and Winifred Shantz Fund for the Arts, held at Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation. Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON.
2019
OAC Exhibition Assistance Grant: Whale Fall, collaborative exhibition with Nicholas Crombach. Ontario Arts Council. Toronto, Ontario.
2019
OAC Project Grant: Whale Fall, collaborative work with Nicholas Crombach. Ontario Arts Council. Toronto, Ontario.
2018
Craft Ontario Volunteer Committee Emerging Artist Award. Toronto, ON.
2017
Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Pat Doran Funded Residency Endowment Scholarship. Maine, USA.
2016
Tuckers Pottery Supplies Ltd. Clay Supply Grant, Craft Ontario. Toronto, Ontario.
2015
Volunteer Committee Award, Craft Ontario. Toronto, Ontario.
2015
OAC Exhibition Assistance Grant, The Bone Runners. Ontario Arts Council. Toronto, Ontario.
2015
Honourable Mention Ceramics, Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. Toronto, Ontario.
2012-2014
Graduate Fellowship, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. New York, USA.
2012
Abraham & Malka Green Award. The Sculptors Society of Canada, Canadian Sculpture Centre, Toronto, Ontario.
2012
Clifford Scholarship. Sheridan Crafts and Design. Toronto, Ontario.
2012
Gardiner Museum Award, Gardiner Museum. Toronto, Ontario.
2011
Silent Night Award, Sheridan Crafts and Design. Oakville, Ontario.
2010
Silent Night Award, Sheridan Crafts and Design. Oakville, Ontario.
2009-2011
Poetry Projections III: Short Film Production Grant, LIFT. Toronto, Ontario.

Artist Residencies

2020
California State University, Long Beach Center for Contemporary Ceramics (CSULB CCC): Visiting artist in residence. Long Beach, California.
2017
Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts Summer Residency: Invited artist (AIA). Maine.
2014-2015
Artist in Residence, Harbourfront Centre. Toronto, Ontario.
2008
R. Murray Schafer’s “Asterion”: Artist Residency. Peterborough, Ontario.

Bibliography

2020
Kotsyuba, Lera, "Nurielle Stern: Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics, Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo,"Fusion: A Magazine for Clay & Glass Vol. 43 No. 3 (Winter 2020): 12-17.
2019
Hogeveen, Esmé, “Ripples and Divinations: Whale Fall as Immersive Cabinet of Curiosities.” Whale Fall: Nicholas Crombach & Nurielle Stern. Waterloo: Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, 2019. Exhibition Catalogue.
2014
Alexander, Marissa, “Nurielle Stern: Eyes of Metal and Agate,” Fusion: A Magazine for Clay & Glass Vol. 38 No. 1 (Winter 2014): 22-24.

Publications

2021
Stern, Nurielle. "Un(Earthings): The Artist as Occult Technician". NCECA Journal Vol. 41 (2021): 58-61.
2019
Stern, Nurielle. "The Sound of a Hard Knock against Porcelain". Ai Weiwei: Unbroken. Toronto: Gardiner Museum, 2019. Exhibition Catalogue.
2018
McKenzie, Mary and Stern, Nurielle, "Developing Ideas Through Making: A Workshop with Anton Reijnders,"Studio: Craft and Design in Canada Vol. 13 No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2018).

Teaching

2023
Artist Mentor to emerging ceramic artist, Sami Tsang, funded by the Ontario Arts Council Skills and Career Development: Indigenous Arts Professionals and Arts Professionals of Colour Grant.
2018
Guest Artist (mid & end of semester critiques). Ceramics Department, Sheridan College Craft & Design Oakville, ON.
2016
Faculty, Ceramics Certificate Program. Haliburton School of Art & Design, Fleming College. Haliburton, ON.
2012- 2013
Teaching Assistant. NYSCC at Alfred University. Alfred, NY.

Selected Artist Talks 

2023
Keynote Speaker. Collabortave artist talk with Nicholas Crombach. Sheridan College Craft & Design, Oakville, ON.
2023
Panelist, ICAF Symposium, Gardiner Museum, Toronto. Animal Bodies Part II: Constructed Bodies. Moderated by Suzanne Carte.
2023
Artist Talk, Al Green Sculpture Studio & School, Toronto, ON.
2023
Artist Talk, MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, ON.
2023
Artist Talk, Spare Room and the MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, ON.
2022
Craft Award Talks. Craft Ontario, Toronto, ON.
2021
Collaborative Artist Talk. Whale Fall. Union Gallery, Kingston, ON.
2021
NCECA Conference, Emerging Artist Fellowship Talk.
2019
Artist Talk. Winifred Shantz Award Exhibition. Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON.
2019
Collaborative Artist Talk. Whale Fall. Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON.
2019
Artist Talk. Hamilton Potters Guild, Carnegie Gallery, Hamilton, ON.
2018
Artist Talk. Sheridan College Ceramics, Oakville, ON.
2017
Artist Talk. Gardiner Museum, Toronto.
2017
Sunday Scene Talk. The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto.
2016
Artist Talk. Toronto Potters. MNJCC, Toronto.
2015
Artist Talk. Craft Ontario Volunteer Committee. Craft Ontario, Toronto.

Public and Private Collections

Diana Reitberger Collection at the Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON.  
Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON.
Art Gallery of Burlignton, Burlingto, ON.  
Schein-Joseph International Museum of Art at Alfred University, Gloryhole Collection.
Emil Shult, Düsseldorf, Germany.

 

 

 

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Contact

Queen E & Parliament 

Toronto, Ontario
Canada

 

 

Contact me at

nurielle {at} deepbreathely.com