My studio practice is informed by my background as a child protective services social worker. I view my collage work as an extension of my social work practice. By that I mean I enter into a space and work with disparate elements to make them work better. They are not perfect, and are slow to resolve. The collages are not image based. Each element, chosen or made, has a history and is manipulated by my hand. Like life, they reflect conflict and changes in course. The objects I make primarily revolve around the absurdities, contradictions, failures and “make do” operations that we use to navigate and make meaning in the world. Working with families I found most hierarchical systems and organizations insufficient to address the complexities of contemporary life and as a result we are forced to recognize and come up with alternative methods to maintain or move forward. My objects draw attention to these methods and processes.
Jeff Feld's sculptures and drawings have been featured in both national and international exhibitions, including White Columns, Artists Space, The Drawing Center, The Brooklyn Museum and the Queens Museum of Art in New York and Dunker Kulturhus in Helsinborg, Sweden. Most recently his was featured at the Chris Sharp Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.
A citizen of Ireland and the United States, Feld was trained as a social worker and spent much of his professional life working in child protective services. He lives and works in Ridgewood, Queens, New York where he is the founder and director of 325 Project Space, a community based art space.