IVY NATé
From: New York, NY
Based in: New York, NY
Born: 1969
Main Artistic Theme: Childhood vs. Adulthood
Web: ivynaté.com
Ivy Naté’s primary source of inspiration is the relationship people have with their stuffed animals. In her installations and sculptures, made exclusively from donated stuffed animals, Ivy is finding and creating new meanings and stories for these materials through her art.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
After graduating from Parsons School of Design, Ivy Naté became a designer leading a variety of projects that range from branding to interiors and real estate. Ivy’s eye for art and design developed through her decades-long professional design career also contributes to her artistic vision.
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Ivy Naté’s art practice consists of producing sculptures and installations from reclaimed stuffed animals for audiences that range from commercial and non-profit galleries to luxury hotels. Encountering the stuffed animals in the studio is always a process of re-discovery—Ivy never knows what stories and histories they hold, and where her inspiration and connection with these objects will take her.
After she pulls out the furry characters that she is drawn to, she often coats them in paint or concrete to create a raw, tactile surface. She also incorporates new and found ephemera such as feathers or chains. These gestures are inspired by “wabi-sabi”, a Japanese concept that means to embrace transience and find beauty in imperfection. Nate’s muse is her younger self, her art is also a practice of healing old wounds."
Selected Exhibitions
Special Projects
Six Hundred West Main
Six Hundred West Main is the brain child of husband and wife, Jeffrey Levien and Ivy Naté. Jeff, a real estate developer and Ivy, an artist, have always been somewhat linked in their business pursuits, regardless of who led the endeavor. They've helped each other raise capital (and a child!), negotiate deal terms and craft business plans. Six Hundred West Main marks their first true business collaboration.
Residences in the project have been designed by Bushman Dreyfus Architects, with interior inspiration provided by artist and developer Ivy Naté — a team dedicated to designing for contemporary modern tastes.