Felice Mendell Studio
About Felice Mendell
Artist Statement
How can art affect social change? In these times of growing inequality, violence and environmental disasters, how can I, as an artist, be the change I want to see in the world?
From my ceramic caryatids that portray the strength of women who support their families and communities in the most challenging circumstances, to my mixed-media paintings reflecting emotional struggles with violence, trauma and poverty, my art often reflects my professional and volunteer work in housing and community development. Employing bright colors and different materials in two- and three-dimensions, I try to reconcile the disturbing stories with a spirit of hope and beauty.
Most of my work is narrative, often figurative. After forming sculptures in monochromatic high-fired clay for many years, I am delighted to be playing with color. My mixed-media paintings are intuitive and iterative. Painting, adding printed images, scraping and erasing, covering and uncovering ideas and shapes, they often evolve from realistic sketches into translucent layers of abstraction and symbol.
Bio
After almost 20 years of practicing as a licensed architect in Montreal and then Boston, Felice left her private practice to create affordable housing. Combining her skills in designing buildings and her volunteer work in political and community organizing, she entered the world of non-profit community development, ultimately taking on the role of Executive Director of the Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic Development. Based in Boston and Connecticut, the Women’s Institute partnered with community-based and grassroots organizations to develop affordable housing for low-income women and homeless families.
Felice left the Women’s Institute in 2005 and continued to work in community development as a consultant while designing and renovating houses. At the same time, she rented a studio on Waltham Street in the South End of Boston and began to pursue a lifelong dream of being an artist.
In 2020, the pandemic brought many changes to her practice. Unable to produce art in her studio and with limited space at home to spread out, her creativity blossomed in architectural design work with clients, thanks to Zoom! She moved from Boston to Westport in late 2021 and now has a spacious home-based studio, where she has resumed her artistic pursuits. She is looking forward to becoming engaged in her new home’s local art community.
Through the years she took classes in figurative drawing, painting, ceramics, and mixed-media sculpture. With early work focused mostly on life drawing and ceramic sculpture, more recently she has created wall-hung pieces using various media, collage, found objects, texture, painting and lots of color. Felice’s pieces are personal and often narrative. Her art reflects her love of the human figure, her experience with strong women who support their families and communities, and her interest in social justice and the built environment. Working in a variety of media, her passions always guide her work.
