Petah Coyne facts for kids

Petah Coyne (born 1953) is an American artist known for her amazing sculptures and photographs. She creates large and small artworks that often hang from the ceiling or sit on the floor. Petah Coyne uses many unusual materials in her art. These can be anything from dead fish, mud, and sticks to special wax, satin ribbons, and silk flowers. More recently, she has used velvet, taxidermy (stuffed animals), and wax statues.

Her art has been shown in over 30 solo museum exhibitions. You can find her work in many famous museums. These include the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Other museums are the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Her art is also in the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Petah Coyne has received many important awards for her art. Some of these include the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. She also won awards from the Rockefeller Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. These awards show how much her unique art is valued.

Early Life and Art Training

Petah Coyne was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1953. Her family moved a lot because her father was in the military. They eventually settled in Dayton, Ohio. Petah was very interested in art from a young age. Her mother even homeschooled her during summers. This allowed Petah to take art classes early. She studied at the University of Dayton and learned to make bronze sculptures.

She went to Kent State University from 1972 to 1973. Then, she attended the Art Academy of Cincinnati. She graduated from there in 1977. After finishing her studies, she moved to SoHo in New York City.

Petah Coyne's Art Career

Untitled #1458 (Marguerite Duras), 2019-2020, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.

Petah Coyne lives and works in New York City. Her art is shown in galleries around the world. She is known for creating sculptures that look like they belong in a dark fairy tale. Her works often combine beauty with a bit of mystery. She uses a wide range of materials. These can be anything from industrial parts to delicate silk flowers.

Recent Art Shows

"Having Gone I Will Return" at Galerie Lelong & Co. (2018)

In 2018, Petah Coyne had a big art show in New York City. It was called "Petah Coyne: Having Gone, I Will Return." For this show, she learned new ways to work with fabric. She even worked with people who make fancy clothes. This helped her create a huge new sculpture. It was inspired by a book called The Doctor's Wife.

"A Free Life" at Nunu Fine Art (2016)

In 2016, Petah Coyne had her first show in Taiwan. It was at Nunu Fine Art in Taipei. This show featured her amazing black and white photographs. It also included new sculptures. One sculpture was a large hanging piece. It had blue and white waxed flowers around a steel frame. The show's name came from a novel called A Free Life.

"Everything that Rises Must Converge" at MASS MoCA (2010)

Petah Coyne's biggest art show was in 2010. It was called "Everything That Rises Must Converge" at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). This show displayed many of her large sculptures. It also included her unique photographs. The artworks ranged from her early, more abstract pieces to her newer, delicate wax sculptures.

In these newer works, she covers materials like pearls and ribbons with wax. She then layers them into big sculptures. Sometimes, she even adds taxidermied (stuffed) birds and animals. Her art is inspired by many things. These include books, movies, different cultures, and nature. People describe her work as having a "Baroque sense of decadent refinement." This means it looks rich and detailed, almost like something from a dream.

This exhibition showed how diverse Petah Coyne's art is. It highlighted her creative use of materials. These included black sand, car parts, satin ribbons, trees, and taxidermy. The show also helped people see how her art has changed over time.

The Real Guerrillas: The Early Years

In 2016, Petah Coyne worked with artist Kathy Grove on a special project. It was called The Real Guerrillas: The Early Years. This project was part of an exhibition in New York. It showed photographs of women artists. These artists were part of a group called the Guerrilla Girls. The Guerrilla Girls are a secret group of female artists. They fight against unfairness in the art world.

The project included two photos of each artist. One photo showed the artist wearing a mask and costume. This was their "alias" or secret identity. The second photo showed the artist without a mask. She was in her studio with her artwork. The idea is that when these artists pass away, their true identities can be shared. This way, their important contributions to art can be fully recognized.

What People Say About Her Art

Art critics often praise Petah Coyne's unique style. One magazine said her art connects sadness with comfort. It shows how loss can be made better by love and a strong passion for creating art.

Another art magazine described one of her sculptures. It featured a magnificent apple tree covered in black sand. Ten taxidermied peacocks sat on its branches. Below them, black pheasants hung upside down. This piece was called "stunning, disturbing, and ambiguous." It was full of hidden meanings, like many of her sculptures.

The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art said that Petah Coyne is part of a group of sculptors. These artists changed sculpture in the late 1980s. They became interested in nature and detailed craftsmanship. They also used everyday objects and explored deep feelings in their art.

See also

• Inside the Artist's Studio, Princeton Architectural Press, 2015. (ISBN: 978-1616893040)