ARTIST STATEMENT

PEGGY SCHIFFER

Whatever else my art practice involves, the process is always to look, to see, to explore beyond limits, and to point to the next question, and the next, and the one after that.

My current work lives in two worlds.  The first “world” is in the digital space. Abstract series such as The Cells, among others, were born in this space, and are meant to be viewed there, by way of digital screens suspended, or hung on a support. The images are luminous, transparent and transient: they shift from stark and resolute to vanishingly amorphous within their confined and energized space.

The Filaments Series also move along in the digital world, but by means of a different process: they extend in horizontal or vertical uni-directional staccato marks, which are made quickly, and are put down on the digital device with my hands. My hands are the only tool which makes contact with the surface in most of the digital work.

The focus of the other “world” I work in, is to make images and photographs which document that which has been discarded, that which has been left behind, that which can be used anew, that which usually takes place out of view, that which is looked away from, and that which involves labor or struggle.

There are other series which overlap the two directions I have described above, such as the Paper Sculptures, splayed as they are on clear plexiglass which lean against aluminum panels, which in turn lean against another means of support. These works straddle the world of the “real”, the tactile; and as well, the world which exists in that other dimension, the digital one, which offers an unending frontier’s worth of adventure and invention.

  • 2O26:
    From 2026 and going forward, the studio is located solely on Cape Cod.

    2O19-2O25:
    The Schiffer Noland Studio location at this time is in North Adams, MA. This is where the paper sculpture series is made, as well as other series that involve recycled materials. Too, painting on glass, or metal, or canvas takes place here. This is where the photographic printer is located. Also, digital series which are meant to be viewed on a digital screen, are prepared for viewing here.

    There is also a second studio, which is out-of-doors, and is used in warm weather. It is located on Cape Cod. This is where painting on glass takes place.

    Photography, both digital abstract images, and documentary series happen in various places.

    1998-2O19:
    The studio location at this time is solely on Cape Cod, with drawing and photography the primary art work. As well, the partner in the Schiffer Noland Studio collaborative, Sam Noland, began working with a drone, which will take the photographic practice in a new direction.

    1994-1998:
    Received a grant from The Graham Foundation in the Visual Arts, to do further work on what started as a graduate thesis project. This project is included in, and was the impetus for the unfinished last work of the art critic Clement Greenberg. The thesis was entitled Clement Greenberg: The Bennington Seminars. The title chosen for the book, with the approval of Mr. Greenberg’s widow, was Mr. Greenberg’s own working title of Homemade Esthetics. The transcription of the seminars, which were the core of the thesis, were included in the book which Oxford University Press published, with Mr. Greenberg’s widow as editor.

    1996:
    M.A., Art History, New York University, Institute of Fine Arts. Two theses were written, one on a medieval object, which thesis was read by Professor Harry Bober, and the thesis mentioned above, which was read by Professor Robert Rosenbloom. William Rubin was also a professor who had significant involvement during the time at The Institute.

    1994-1996:
    Freelance photography and full time parenthood.

    1982-1994:
    Instructor in art history to artists for part of this period at the Silvermine Guild Center for the Arts in Silvermine Connecticut. The course taught was 175O to the Present, and it was geared to college graduates studying for a certificate degree in fine arts.

    Founded The Silvermine Papers, an art historical journal for students at The Silvermine School.

    Winter 1982:
    Participated in the Silvermine Faculty exhibition.

    Art work at this time included painting, photography, handmade paper and ceramics. Studio space was located in South Salem, New York during this time, as well as earlier.

    1978:
    Member of the editorial board of Marsyas, the journal of The Institute of Fine Arts.

    1977-1978:
    Part time work at Sotheby’s (then called Sotheby Parke-Bernet) in the print department, while at the Institute of Fine Arts.

    1977-1979:
    Began studies in art history at The Institute of Fine Arts. This second M.A. degree was completed some years later.

    1977:
    The Goethe Institute, summer, Germany. German language study.

    1976:
    Middlebury College summer language study program in German.

    1976:
    Employed at The United Nations in the photography unit of the information division of UNICEF.

    1975:
    Exhibited paintings and photographs at the 80 Washington Square East Gallery at N.Y.U.

    1975:
    Travel to Venice with N.Y.U. as part of an M.A. program in art. Art historical research done in Venice regarding Titian.

    1974-1978:
    Freelance photography.

    1974-1976:
    M.A. in Fine Art. The Steinhardt School, New York University.

    1973:
    Summer. Studied archaeology at Merton College, Oxford under the auspices of the Association for Cultural Exchange. Participated in the excavation of an iron age hill fort in Danbury, Hants., under the direction of Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe.

    Winter 1973:
    Travel to Israel. Photographed at a kibbutz in the north, and in the desert in the south. Photographed at Mt. Sinai.

    Winter 1971-1972
    Worked as a still photographer for WNET, channel 13 in New York. The photographs were included in news broadcasts. (At the time, this PBS station could only afford one film crew, so still photographers were needed).

    1971-1972:
    Winter 1971, Summer 1972. Employed at The Guggenheim Museum as a teacher of photography in the children’s program (Then called Project ICK, for Inner City kids). Executed a photography project on the children which was included in the exhibition of the children’s work at the Guggenheim. The exhibition was entitled A Year with Children. The museum had some of the photographs enlarged into banners which were hung throughout the museum.

    Summer 1971:
    Employed at The Portland (Maine) Museum of Art for the summer, to teach art to children.

    197O-1974:
    Bennington College. B.A. in Fine Arts, June 1974. Studied with Philip Wofford, Sidney Tillim and Neil Rappaport.

    While at Bennington: monitor of The New Gallery 1971-1972 and monitor of the art Slide Library 1973.

    Executed a wall with other art students and artists for Sol LeWitt for the exhibition entitled Paintings Without Supports.

    Paintings and photographs exhibited at Bennington 1972, 1973, 1974.

    Summer 197O:
    Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Painting, drawing, photography, etching, monotypes. Faculty included David Diao, Brice Marden, Jacob Lawrence. Met future spouse, an artist, at Skowhegan. A 24 year relationship followed, which included ten years of marriage and a son. The marriage ended in divorce in 1994 after many adventures.

    Summer 1969:
    Cranbrook Academy. Summer program for high school students called Adventure in Creativity. Painting and photography.

    1963-197O:
    The Art Students League. Anatomy with Robert Beverly Hale, as well as classes with other instructors.

    1965-197O:
    The Dalton School, New York City. (High School Diploma).

    Art related courses at Dalton included: sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, printing press wood cuts, graphics, art history. Instructors included Aaron Kurzen and Rhys Caparn, among others.

    1962:
    Museum of Modern Art, children’s art classes.

    Circa 1958: First camera: Kodak Brownie. (There followed other cameras including a Yashica electro-35, a Nikkormat which was used for 4O years, a Graflex 4X5 camera, and briefly, a Hasselblad, all before switching to Canon digital cameras, and other digital devices in the 21st century).

    Born in 1952, Brooklyn, New York. Grew up on West Eighth Street in Greenwich Village, New York.

  • Sam Noland is a partner in Schiffer Noland Studio. He is taking the lead on learning about drone photography, 3D printing, and animation, all three of which are in the initial stages of exploration for this collaborative of two people.

    In addition to what is mentioned above, Sam observes, points things out and identifies that which he thinks would make pictures of interest in a given series. He has been particularly involved in identifying potential images for the Shadows Series, which is ongoing.

    Sam has created the 2026 Night Light Series, Peggy follows his lead on this project. They also worked together on the 2026 Corridor Series. Sam is involved in preparing material for the Paper Sculpture Series, another ongoing project.

    In the past, Sam has worked as assistant to the projectionist in “the booth” at the Cape Cinema. He has also worked as an assistant in the office at The Cape Museum of Fine Arts. Too, Sam has worked at the local television studio on Cape Cod, cueing videos to be shown at very specific times. Sam is accurate to the second on such projects, and in general has a very precise and accurate eye, and excellent timing, which are welcome strengths for Schiffer Noland Studio.

    Sam finished high school on Cape Cod at Barnstable High School. As well, he attended The Foundation School in Orange, Connecticut and The Eagle Hill School in Greenwich, Connecticut.

    Sam was born in 1983 in New York City. He grew up in South Salem, New York; Bennington, Vermont; and in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Between 2019-2025, he divided his time between the Barnstable home and studio and North Adams, where the main studio for Schiffer Noland Studio was located.  

    For 2026 and going forward, the studio is located solely on Cape Cod.

The two partners at Schiffer Noland Studio maintain a fluid and open esthetic: they make work together, and they also make work individually. If you need clarification on this please do inquire.

Schiffer Noland Studio acknowledges the following for their generosity:
MASS MoCA Assets for Artists and the New York Foundation for the Arts.