ZOYA NIEDERMANN BIO

b.1956

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Zoya Niedermann is part of a group of sculptors who have returned to casting in bronze, and beneath this very traditional material, our eyes unravel her perfectly formulated gestures that have been transformed into three dimensions. Niedermann strives to seek unity between organic and geometric lines, often using the solitary human form as her subject. She balances simple basic elements which gradually unfold into something more elaborate. We feel an inner metamorphosis.
 

For example, the "Arch Figures" join two vertical forms with a twisted, seemingly flexible path. The flow of inner life is conveyed with the possibility of movement. This bronze sculpture stands permanently in the Utsukushi-ga-hara Open-Air Museum since l993 when Niedermann was awarded the Hakone Open-Air Museum Price at the prestigious Fujisankei Biennale; won in previous years by such well-known artists as Anthony Caro, Cesar, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Reg Butler, to name a few.  
 

Niedermann's first sculptures emerged years before her studies at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts School and Concordia University in the 70s. She travelled extensively abroad and in the early 80s produced a series in welded steel on the theme "The City". Then she spent several years in New York City where she experienced firsthand the energy of the artistic community there. With the opening of La Maison des Cooperants in the early 90's she initiated a conceptual project called "A Year in the Life of an Artist" and presented a new project each month to the public for one year and documented its progress. Always returning to Italy where she has been casting her work for over twenty years.
 

Niedermann's drawings and paperwork exhibit her exceptional ability to seek out the depth of form even on a flat surface. Her collage reliefs uniquely explore the lone figure through the eyes of the sculptor.

She has many exterior sculptures world-wide including Canada, at the Industrial Life Tower in Montreal; at the George Bernard Shaw Theater in Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario; and in private collections in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Australia, U.S.A., and Japan. Niedermann was born in Montreal in l954 and now lives and works in Montreal, Pietrasanta and New York City.