Elisa Pritzker

Elisa Pritzker (born 1955) is an Argentine-American artist working in a variety of two- and three-dimensional art media.

Background In Argentina, Pritzker studied at the School of Ceramics and earned her certification in 1976. She also attended the Superior School of Visual Arts earning her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1987. Pritzker went on to teach at both schools, the School of Ceramics from 1982 to 1989 and at the Superior School of Visual Arts from 1987 to 1989.

She resides with her husband, entrepreneur Enrique Rob Lunski, at their estate, Casa del Arte, in Ulster County, New York.

Art In 1993, Pritzker moved to the United States and settled in New York State's Hudson Valley, where she embarked on a series of artworks on the themes of love, war and peace which eventually evolved into projects with deeper roots using non-traditional materials.

"CD Project" In the "CD Project," Pritzker created "@Maya," in 2001–2004, and "Nature versus Technology" for the Kingston Sculpture Biennial of 2005. In these works, Pritzker recycled CDs in ways contradictory to their manufactured purpose. In "@Maya," she drew Mayan scientific and astrological signs and symbols on the surface of the CDs, thus cross-referencing the science of the Maya with the technological language of contemporary America. For "Nature versus Technology," she covered the lower section of a living tree in CDs in a wooded area of Kingston, New York. The work served as an inquiry into the ramifications of technology encroaching on the natural environment.

"URBA.NATURAL" The "Buddha Project" prompted Pritzker's interest in installation work. Concurrent with this interest in installation, Pritzker was drawn towards an art which interacted with nature, physically, aesthetically and philosophically. Her "URBA.NATURAL", dating from 2010, consisted of four projects: "zippers;" "trunks;" "birds.dogs.deer;" and "antlers.jaws.skin."

Other projects In 2012, Pritzker created the "Eclectica Store/Hudson Valley," utilizing objects she'd collected or created over the years, and set them up as a store. In this expression of a store as art form, the assortment of objects served as a "metaphor pointing to the eclecticism of the Hudson Valley," an area of diversity in the natural environment and the human, social and civic environment.

Pritzker's work continues her interest in human interaction with nature. Her project, the "Selknam Series," referenced the indigenous people of southern Argentina and Chile, and is an "investigation, research and visual homage to a rich and deep civilization that is now totally extinct. I have always questioned humanity's ancestral and ongoing violence towards other cultures. Honoring the Selknam is a reminder that there are still many inhuman acts everywhere." This series was also part of the International Art Biennale Fresh Winds exhibition in Gardur, Iceland from December 2015 to January 2016. Pritzker exhibited "Selknam: Spirit, Ceremony, Selves" at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art (HVCCA) Museum from May to September 2017 and the Gallery of the Consulate General of Argentina in New York in October 2017.

In addition to her work as an artist, Pritzker is active as a curator. She is also the co-founder of HCC-Arts and has been recognized for her work with that organization. Her interviews and work have appeared in magazines, such as Poets and Artists, on PBS, and on radio. Pritzer also is the author of a syndicated column, "La Esquina de las Artes" (The Corner of the Arts), published in La Voz at Bard College and ABClatino magazine.

Exhibitions and collections Pritzker has exhibited extensively in the United States and abroad, in group and solo exhibitions, including such notable New York City venues as the Museum of Modern Art, the Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center Plaza, Franklin 54 Gallery, the Pinta Art Fair, Brooklyn's NurtureArt, and the Sculpture Center in Long Island City, Queens. Her New York State exhibition venues include the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art (SDMA), the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Arts [HVCCA], the Kingston Museum of Contemporary Arts (KMOCA) and in various venues in the Hudson Valley. Internationally, Pritzker's work has been exhibited at the National Institute of Art in Taipei, Taiwan; the Naxos Town Hall, Naxos, Greece; the London Biennial/Gallery 32, London, U.K.; Galeria de Arte Buenos Aires Sur and Galeria Arte x Arte, both in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Taste Modern Berlin Art Gallery, Berlin, Germany; Casa Argentina, Jerusalem, Israel; and others.

Her work is represented in significant collections in New York and abroad, including Dia Beacon, Beacon, New York; the Brooklyn Art Library, Brooklyn, New York; the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, New York; Jean et Colette Cherqui Art Collection, Paris, France & New York; Consulate General of Argentina in New York; Buenos Aires' Galeria de Arte Vuelvo al Sur and Fundacion Luz y Alfonso Castillo; and in private collections in the United States, London, Germany and Israel.

Awards and honors Pritzker has been the recipient of numerous awards, including two Congressional Awards by US Congressman Maurice Hinchey for achievements and service in the area of Community Arts and Culture; a National Black Prestige Award; a J.P. Morgan Chase, Working Woman honoree; and several others. She has also been awarded several grants, including the S.O.S. Grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts; a Puffin Foundation Grant, among others. In January 2018, she was the featured artist in Sanctuary magazine.