MONA LIZZY’S
Elizabeth Stoltz is a New York City based artist whose work explores death and loss with a particular interest in themes surrounding identity, memory and affection. Sitting at the intersection between life /death and joy /fear, Stoltz chronicles the beauty of the mundane in contemporary life and death.
Stoltz’s ceramic sculptures of funerary urns are defined by an aesthetic of kitsch and joy, with a dark undertone of wit. Interested in death as an ultimate equalizer, Stoltz labels urns“insufferable” and “over the top” whilst another just reads “ruined everything”. No aggrandizing eulogies in sight. In her trophy cups series her navigation of material culture and life’s important moments continues – imposing trophies read messages like “sorry” and “good luck if you get it” – a playful study in daily living and failing forward.
Stoltz’s artistic practice also extends to painting, with a series of large scale still life paintings currently in progress. These feature scenes of discarded objects and trash that the artist photographs around the streets of New York & London. Committing them to canvas as vignettes of the daily grotesque, each painting acts as a sort of memento mori for Stoltz.
Stoltz holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from San Diego State University (California) and a Graduate Degree in Interior Design from the KLC School of Design (London, U.K). She currently resides in Brooklyn.