Portrait of Nature – Melanie Zibit & Zen Saito

Gallery Sitka announces the exhibition “Portrait of Nature” by sculptor Melanie Zibit and artist/photographer Zen Saito. The public is invited to the free opening reception on Sunday, May 5 from 2:30-4:30pm; Saito and Zibit will be in attendance. The show will be displayed through June 5.

Sculptor and Shirley Massachusetts resident, Melanie Zibit learned to carve in the marble workshops of Carrara, Italy. Her passion for creating sculpture started as an undergraduate and then grew in her 20s to working with artists in rural Maine and in New York City. Zibit carves at the Vermont Carving Studio and Sculpture Center. She gives presentations at museums, schools, universities, galleries, and arts festivals and has received commissions and exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the US. Zibit is the recipient of the 2014 and 2015 NYC Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club award and the 2015 Best Abstract in Show award from the Cape Cod Art Association.

Zibit states, “I am inspired by ancient and modern sculptors. I use marble and bronze, classical materials, and components of forms found in nature to create a modern statement. Leaving elements natural or forms unfinished invites the viewer to complete the form in their mind’s eye.”

Artist, Japanese native, and Fitchburg resident Zen Saito (a.k.a. Yoshiyuki Saito) grew up in a small town in Japan with a family that supported his creativity. By age 18, Zen had moved to Tokyo to study design. At age 24 he moved to New York where he studied at The Art Students League of New York, worked at a sculptor studio, and exhibited his work in group and solo shows in Brooklyn and Manhattan. In 2007 Zen moved to Massachusetts and has expanded his artistic endeavors to include carpentry.

Zen shares, “My artwork is often influenced by nature, and often reflects the period of my life. I once wanted my artwork to carry messages to the world — but recently I have just been enjoying working with different media, exploring and developing new skills, opening up my freedom to challenge my creativity.”

Additional information can be found at Gallery Sitka.