Stacey Clarfield Newman

Stacey Clarfield Newman

A collagist and painter, Stacey Clarfield Newman has developed a unique method of recycling ephemera to create striking hand-painted papers.  She then uses them as painterly “brushstrokes of paper” to produce lyrical collages containing abstracted “mindscapes” and whimsical social commentary.  Influenced by music, her love affair with color, life’s events and her deep reverence for nature, the artist states “the planet Earth is a small green island- an emerald gem to be cared for and appreciated.  We must protect and nurture all the living beings who inhabit it.”  In keeping with that philosophy and her conviction that artists have a responsibility to open a dialog with the viewer about life issues, she was commissioned to create a collage mural for the Albert Einstein Medical Outpatient AIDS Wing in 1992 entitled The Powers of Healing.

Most recently, Ms. Clarfield Newman spent two months living and working in Kolkata, India at the Udayan School, a welfare and rehabilitation school for children of leprosy patients.  There she taught her techniques of “painting with paper” collage to 300 children ages 4 – 18, living with the students in the girls dormitory, crossing cultural and language barriers through art.  In February of 2010, she curated and mounted an exhibit, “Art of the Heart” of the children’s work at the prestigious Chamber of Congress’ Palladian Lounge in Kolkata to rave reviews in the city’s renowned cultural media. The show was a resounding success and the proceeds of the art sales were donated for the continued welfare of Udayan School.

Ms.Clarfield Newman has exhibited widely across the United States and internationally as well, most recently showing in Chicago and in Colorado.  Ms. Newman’s work was also included in the juried National Association of Women Artists’ annual competition “Illuminations” at the gallery 928 Broadway in Chelsea.

In recent reviews, critics have called her work, “ethereal and painterly… the large, intricate collages lyrically evoke a surreal dreamscape, drawing the viewer into the painting,” and went on to say that Stacey Clarfield Newman’s hand-painted, handmade paper collage paintings “richly suggest an organic landscape of the mind.”  Her art is in numerous private and public collections, including the White Plains Hospital Center; Bridgepoint Capitol, Inc., The Aesthetic Surgery Center, Darien, CT, The Toberoff Collection and the law firms of Latham and Watkins; Berle, Kass and ,Case in New York City.

After studying at the Fidel School of Art, a private Art Enrichment School, Stacey Clarfield Newman attended Franklin and Marshall College, afterwards earning a B.S. in Management and Labor Relations.  She then incorporated her art and business background to develop a successful career in New York City’s television and video industry.  Deciding to make a full-time commitment to painting, Newman studied at The School of Visual Arts, Purchase College at SUNY, with Roger Hendricks, and privately with the artists Richard Miller, Leo Manso, and the sculptor Caryl Stone.

Ms. Newman’s collage, The Sky is the Limit, was chosen as a visual statement to represent Catalyst, Inc. a nonprofit research and advisory organization whose primary mission is to enable women to achieve their full professional potential.

Stacey Clarfield Newman is a member of the National Association of Women in the Arts, The National Association of Professional Women, The National Arts Club, The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Indo-American Arts Council and is currently artist in residence at the Green Chimneys School in Brewster, NY.  Stacey is a former faculty member of the private art enrichment program for children “Young At Art”, in Westchester as well as the Scarsdale Continuing Education Art Program.  She is the author of the book Stacey Paints India.

Published in International Contemporary Masters IV Art Book, the artist’s biography appears in Marquis Who’s Who Women in America, Who’s Who Art in America, Who’s Who of American Women, Millennium Edition, and Who’s Who in the World.  She is also listed in the Art in America Annual Guide, as one of the new emerging artists to watch.  In addition to the venues provided by NAWA, Ms.Clarfield Newman’s work can be viewed at Viridian Artists, Inc. in New York City, online at www.Artslant.com, http://www.ArtWanted.com/Rteest21 and through Stacey Clarfield Newman Studios at 914-725-1174.Her website is www.staceypaintsindia.com