NANCY JURS

            Little needs to be said when her name is mentioned in Clay Art circles, or in many cases, the larger art community. Nancy Jurs is well known first as an artist of the highest order, then one whose medium is clay.

            She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1963. At present, she has sustained a thirty year career in the Clay Art World, producing monolithic size sculptures, while also working with young potters as a mentor. She has furnished exhibition opportunities for young artists, and helped them in the difficult maze of employment opportunities. 

            She is too prolific to enumerate all of her works, but some notable Public Installations have been:

• The Rochester International Airport – “Triad: Gateway to Rochester” (16’ x 10’ x 10’) Clay with patina, three element group sculpture, 1995.

• Center for Optoelectronics and Imaging, University of Rochester, NY. “Aurora: Goddess of the Dawn” (14’ x 4’ x 4’).

• SUNY, Brockport, Brockport, NY. “Blox” Monolith, (78” x 26” x 24”)

• Itawamba Community College, Fulton, MS. “EOS” Monolith, (14’ tall), clay with patina.

• Fletcher Brown State Park, Wilmington, DE. “Small wonders”, Triptych, (16’ tall on 10’ diameter base).

• Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY, “Emergence”, Diptych (7’ tall)

            Nancy Jurs was selected to receive the Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement because of her more than thirty years of creative work as an innovative sculptor. Ms. Jurs has made significant contributions to her field through the execution of large–scale ceramic works and the development of new patina techniques.

            She produces work for both public and private spaces. Many other monumental works are scattered across our country. Included is the Memorial Art Gallery, at SUNY. Her work is collected by the Smithsonian Institution, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, and the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, among many other institutions.