Rebecca Welz, a native Californian who has spent much of her adult life in New York City, is a distinguished artist and educator at Pratt Institute with over three decades of teaching experience. Initially a painter, Rebecca’s artistic journey evolved from painting on sanded, folded sheet acrylic, reminiscent of origami and sometimes incorporating kinetic elements, to working with steel. Her innovative approach led her to create series such as “Steel Kites,” where she threaded configurations on curved rods.
Her artistic residency at Sunpower Corporation in Richmond, California, was pivotal, inspiring her to explore the possibilities of round steel rods, which she heats, bends, and connects. This method allows her to craft sculptures that play with line to create form, texture, and nuance, emphasizing the simplicity and potency of linear constructs.
Rebecca’s work often reflects themes of biomimicry and the human influence on nature, inspired by her experiences diving and snorkeling in diverse marine environments. Her sculptures have been featured in prestigious solo and group exhibitions across the United States, including at the June Kelly Gallery and Grace Borgenicht Gallery in New York City, the Oakland Museum in California, and the Heckscher Museum in Huntington, New York.
In addition to her exhibition success, Rebecca’s sculptures are part of numerous private and corporate collections, including those of Goldman Sachs, Pfizer, Merck, Prudential Life Insurance Corporation, Sabre Corporation, the William Kaufman Corporation, and Sunpower Corporation. Her work continues to inspire and provoke thought about the natural world and our place within it.
Here’s a slide show of her work:
