Lisa Dawn Gold was born in Merion, Pennsylvania in 1959. She currently lives and works in Telluride, Colorado and New York City. She is a contemporary artist who specializes in solid graphite sculpture, painting and conceptual art. Her sculptures tend to be representations of objects, while her paintings and drawings are far more abstract. She believes that for a piece of artwork to be “alive,” it has to come out of the “richness of the creative process,” and if she knows in advance exactly what she’s doing, then she’s not in the true creative process. When it comes to her sculptures, her process involves much more patience. She first conjures up an idea that is distilled in the “intellectual mind;” these ideas are then brought into the physical realm when she believes they are ready to be “born” into the world. Once this happens, she then casts them solid in whatever material they are made—solid graphite, metal, pure pigment pastel, watercolor, or crayons. When it comes to her drawings and paintings, she states that there is a much more “intuitive process” where she taps into her unconscious state. This process is very fluid, where images are continually evolving and open to continuous insight and growth. She is represented by a number of different galleries in the U.S. and is included in a solo exhibition in New York City as well as an exhibition in Telluride, Colorado.

1985 – 87 MFA – Masters of Fine Arts, Pratt Institute
1986 Day Studios, San Francisco, California
1977 – 81 BFA – Bachelors of Fine Arts, Pratt Institute
1980 Byram Shaw School of Art, London England
1976 Philadelphia College of Art
1975-77 Studied Under William C. Bahammerman (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts – Classical Training – LMHS)

Gold currently resides in Telluride, Colorado.

ARTIST STATEMENT:
CONSCIOUS SELF – Sculptural Process The sculptures come from an idea that is distilled in the intellectual mind. They then evolve and are realized in the physical world through my esthetic sense. They are often highly conceptual in nature. Though the work typically starts from a strong conceptual place, in the end, It must also be visually potent. My sculptural process is typically long and labor intensive. Often the sculptures may even sit in their original clay or plaster form for a few years before I deem them worthy or ripe to be born into the world. Each piece has to stand the test of time. The original sculpture or maquette is then made solid in whatever is the intended material, mostly solid graphite (pencil) , metal , pure pigment pastel , watercolor , and crayons , all materials used to date . In this way, the sculptures also become a drawing tool with potential to draw. Maybe immortalized or sustained is that brief moment of excitement one might have gotten when opening a brand new box of crayons. The sculptures are ” Brand New ” (A contemporary obsession) and unused, with infinite potential. Though each sculpture begins with a very clear concept, it is in the making of the work in the physical where changes take place as needed and the idea is really crystallized.

UNCONSCIOUS – Drawing and Painting Process A release is found in the quicker drawing and painting process. This is a much more intuitive process where I tap into my unconscious and there’s a more rapid realization. In this very fluid process, images are continually evolving and open to continuous insight and change. Here, all things may be revealed and come to the surface. In all the creative processes, it is in the hands on making of the work where things come together and even the artists can surprise themselves.