Born in London, England, in 1933 Mary Frank moved to the United States with her family in 1940. In the early 1950s she studied with Hans Hoffman and Max Beckmann. Frank works across disciplines as a sculptor, painter, photographer and gifted ceramic artist. Without allegiance to any particular way of working or medium, Frank is fueled by her ever present urge for direct and honest expression. Frank's process begins with some form of abstraction from which she teases out what she describes as a pre-existing time and atmosphere where events can take place. Her recurring imagery acts as an alphabet, combined in order to evoke feelings of grief, love, sorrow, ecstasy, mourning and exultation.
Throughout the 1950s to 1970s, she primarily worked in sculpture, creating works like Iris (Messenger of the Gods), which was made out of wood, and reflected mythology and Primitive Art. Frank says that her influences include African and Inuit Art. She also worked in bronze and clay. Frank then transitioned into painting and mixed media works during the 1980s.
The artist has received two Guggenheim Foundation Fellowships, one in 1973, and one in 1983. She was also awarded the Lee Krasner Award from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation in 1983, and the Joan Mitchell Grant Award in 1995. Frank lives and works in New York City and Woodstock, New York.
