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Estelle B. Nussbaum was born and raised in Brooklyn N.Y. The city with all its cacophony and diversity continues to play an important role in Nussbaum’s work today. Tight spaces, alleyways, clothing lines, clothespins are just some of the visual cues Nussbaum became accustomed to seeing. Perhaps then it is no surprise to hear her work described as, “work that navigates and explores the terrain of the ordinary.” Traffic lights, telephone wires crisscrossing space, grocery store windows stocked high with colorful and graphic packaging continue to punctuate her work. This entire littering of space becomes representative of man’s insinuation into a particular place and that has universal resonance. All the detritus of life is on view and very public and very shared. Nussbaum’s work possesses this sort of honesty and clamor. Each and every piece is completed in a single sitting. Notations and pencilings serve as navigational markers as the artist threads her way through any visual encounter.
One of the hallmarks of Nussbaum’s work is her almost obsessive desire to consider her subject matter from multiple points of view. The desire to fully represent the particular characteristics of her subject matter often leads her to work on a serial basis. That which is not conveyed visually on the first go ‘round will be more fully explored in a subsequent piece and so on…. such that in the end the viewer is left to consider and consider respectfully so much that is often taken for granted. The simple metal spout on a canister of Morton’s salt ultimately leads to a much broader question, that is, what does open look like and how so closed?
Estelle Nussbaum is a graduate of the Yale University School of Art having earned her MFA degree in Painting in 1988. After working tirelessly for many years she has recently been making a concerted effort to exhibit her work. She has moved from regional representation toward broader accessibility. Her last two exhibits were held at the Atlantic Gallery in NYC.