Anat Shiftan (b. 1955, Israel) is a ceramic artist based in New York. She uses artistic and decorative motifs found throughout Western art history—floral centerpieces and arranged still life vignettes—to explore her relationship to nature both as a human being and as an artist. In her own words, “When I make my floral piles, I explore the ambivalent condition of our relation with nature. As I attempt to look at nature I realize it is not there for me to view. Nature as an authentic, unpredictable, and uninterrupted phenomenon is not present in our world. Our ‘nature’ is stylized and cultured. Further, nature as a cultural concept is placed in contrast to the mechanized world, yet nature is in fact mechanical and predictable … Nature embodies the texture of sexuality, life and death, of power and subversion, and is very similar to complex political and social phenomena.”
Shiftan earned an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and Design in 1986 and is a Professor Emerita in the Ceramics Department at SUNY New Paltz, where she held a teaching position from 2003 to 2023. She has a degree in English Literature and Philosophy from Hebrew University and an MA in Ceramics from Eastern Michigan University. From 1986 to 1999, she was an instructor, production manager, senior designer, and director of education at the historic Pewabic Pottery in Detroit, MI. Her work has been exhibited extensively; she collaboratively organized Contemporary Issues in Clay: A British Perspective in 2006 and Why Clay in 2008 as well as Beyond Hand Made in 2008. Shiftan has twice received the Michigan Grant for Individual Artists. In 2023, she had a retrospective exhibition, Life & Still at the Zillman Art Museum in Bangor, ME.
ANAT SHIFTAN
b. 1955, Israel
EDUCATION
1980
BA, English Literature and Philosophy, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
1984
MA, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
1986
MFA, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Design, Bloomfield Hills, MI
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024
Beit Binyamini, Tel Aviv, Israel
2023
Life & Still, Zillman Art Museum, Bangor, ME
2020
Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY
Peka Gallery for Architecture and Experimental Art, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and Town Planning, Haifa, Israel
University of Maine Museum of Art, Bangor, ME
2015
Anat Shiftan: Nature Reconsidered, Thomas Hunter Project Space, New York, NY
2014
Le Jardin: The Ceramics of Anat Shiftan, Vessels Gallery, Boston, MA
2012
Anat Shiftan, Vessels Gallery, Boston, MA
2010
Anat Shiftan: Recent Work, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia PA
Stilled Life, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
2008
Anat Shiftan: Recent Works of Still Life, Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI
Anat Shiftan: Digital Art, WAW Peekskill Extension Center Gallery, Peekskill, NY
2006
Contemporary Issues in Clay: A British Perspective, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY
Lydia Zabetsky Gallery, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, Israel
2004
Ceramics and Digital Drawings, Fine Arts Gallery, Mott Community College, Flint, MI
2003
Color Perception in Time: A Video of Digital Drawings, Union Media Gallery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
1988
Willis Gallery, Detroit, MI
1987
Artist Association, Ann Arbor, MI
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2025
Boundless Creativity: Immigrant Artists in the Hudson Valley, Reher Center, Kingston, NY
Nurturing Nature, Spencertown Academy Arts Center, Spencertown, NY
2020
Forest Primeval, Hostler Burrows LA, Los Angeles, CA
2018
Garden Feast of Paradise, NCECA, Pittsburgh, PA
Garden Feast of Paradise, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Small Favors, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2017
Intimately Unfamiliar, Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, NY
Our Flag: Design Stands Together, R & Company, New York, NY
Small Favors: Think Inside the Box, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2016
Hot Pots, Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY
2014
Anat Shiftan, Jenny Kemp, Noah Post, and Suzy Sureck: Tracery, Gallery PS 209, Stone Ridge, NY
Floral Panels by Nancy Lorenz and Floral Porcelains by Anat Shiftan, Old Westbury Gardens/Nassau County Museum, Old Westbury, NY
2013
Naturally, Schacht Gallery, Saratoga Clay Arts Center, Saratoga, NY
Roos Art Exhibition: Bowls and Platters, Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY
Small Favors VIII, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Art Shanghai, Shanghai, China
Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, NY
2012
Blue and White, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Faculty of Wayne State Ceramic Program: 1990–2012, Detroit, MI
Small Favors VII, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Tending toward the Untamed: Artists Respond to the Wild Garden, Glyndor Gallery, Wave Hill, The Bronx, NY
Watershed Kiln God Show, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
2011
Ceramics Material and Material Culture, Queens College, Queens, NY
eARTh, Westchester Art Center, White Plains, NY
Jingdezhen Contemporary International Exhibition, The First Kaolin Cup China International Ceramic Art Contest and Exhibition, Jingdezhen, China
Mercurial Objects: Luxuriant Obsession, Schuck Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
Small Favors VI, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
The Gift of Art, Vessels Gallery, Boston, MA
Teaching Artists, Peekskill Clay Studios, Peekskill, NY
2010
eARTh, Rockland Center for the Arts, Rockland, NY
Re-Objectification, Leslie Ferrin Gallery, Pittsfield, MA
Small Favors V, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
The Fourth Annual Jingdezhen Contemporary International Ceramics Exhibition, Great China Museum, Jingdezhen, China
The Things Themselves, Pelham Art Center, Pelham, NY
Visual Translations, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2009
Made in Clay, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
Small Favors IV, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2009
Sanbao International Printmaking Exhibition, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, University of Jingdezhen, China
Jingdezhen Contemporary International Ceramics Exhibition, Jingdezhen, China
University of Alaska, Anchorage, AK
2009
International Printmaking Exhibition, Sanbao, China
2008
All Fired Up, Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY
Beyond Hand Made, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Made in Clay, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
Small Favors II, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Tercet, Anelie Gandellman Fine Art, Larchmont, NY
The Fifth Biennale for Israeli Ceramics: Clay, Sensation, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel
Why Clay, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
Buckham Gallery, Flint, MI
2007
Art and Soul: Discovering the Artist Within, Art Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY
Ceramic Abstraction: Exploration and Evidence in Contemporary Ceramics, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT
Craft Forms, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
Cups Coming Together, Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY
Made in Clay, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
Mastery in Clay, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Small Favors, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Visual Israeliness, The Open University of Israel, Ra’anana, Israel
2006
Ceramic Regional: Down to Earth, The Art Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY
Craft Forms, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
Jersey Shore Clay National, M.T. Burton Gallery, Surf City, NJ
Mastery in Clay, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Second Nature, Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, NY
Small Favors, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
The Fourth Biennale for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel
Two Dimensions / Three Dimensions, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2005
Artist in Residence: The XII International Raku Symposium, Pleminitas, Zagreb, Croatia
Five Israeli and Five American Ceramic Artists, Toby Rosenberg Gallery, Portland, ME
The Third Biennale for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel
Tile Matter and Motif, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
2004
Works by Art Faculty from SUNY Purchase and New Paltz, Dutchess Community College Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY
2003
Regional Drawing Exhibition, Elaine L. Jacob Gallery, Detroit, MI
2002
Center Gallery, Detroit, MI
1999
Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
1992
Habatat / Shaw, Southfield, MI
1991
Kresge Art Museum Biennial Exhibition, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI
1990
Ten Year Anniversary Show, Detroit Focus Gallery, Detroit, MI
Great Lakes Gallery, Chicago, IL
1988
Chicago Fire 2: Contemporary Ceramics, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
1987
All but Oil, Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI
Outside, Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI
Detroit Focus Gallery, Detroit, MI
Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
Eye Media, Ann Arbor, MI
1986
Clay USA, Radford University, Radford, VA
Contemporary Ceramics, Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw, MI
Michigan Gallery, Detroit, MI
Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI
Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS, AWARDS
2004–17
Research and Creative Projects Award, SUNY New Paltz
2009–10
UUP Professional Development Award, SUNY New Paltz
2006
UUP/SUNY, Dr. Nuala McGann Drescher Award
UUP Professional Development Award, SUNY New Paltz
2004–05
UUP Professional Development Award, SUNY New Paltz
1990
Michigan Council for the Arts, Grant for Individual Artist
1988
Michigan Council for the Arts, Grant for Individual Artist
1987
Arts Foundation of Michigan Award
1986
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Tuition Grant
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2021
Jenny Bradley Pfeffer, “Beauty in the Breakdown,” Lux Interiors + Design, March 2021
2020
Anat Shiftan, “My Natural Forms Are Invented,” interview by Yair Levi, Ceramic Artists Association of Israel 39: 44–53
Georgette Gouveia, “A Bouquet of Nature Inspired Art,” WAG Magazine, May 1, 2020
Sarah Mead Wyman, “Reframing Nature Within the Garden Walls: Feminist Ecological Citizenship in the Work of Louise Glück, Jeanne Larsen, and Anat Shiftan,” Feminist Formations 32, no. 2 (John Hopkins University Press, 2020): 136–162
2019
Brett Williams, “Soft, Alluring Interiors Define This Upper East Side Apartment,” Aspire Design and Home Magazine, December 30, 2019
“DesignMiami/ Basel: Find Out the 14 Best Galleries We've Spotted!,” Husk, June 14, 2019
17. Erfurter Schmucksymposium (17th Erfurter Jewelry Symposium), Catalogue Essay, Turingen Friestaat and Erfurt Landeshauptstat: 38–41
2016
Paul Laster, “18 Things We Want from Design Miami,” Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art, December 2016
2014
“Thoughts on Authenticity and Interpretation,” Studio Potter 42, no. 2
2012
Jennifer McGregor, Gabriel Guzman, John Minieri, Tending towards the Untamed, Artists Respond to the Wild Garden, catalog, Glyndor Gallery, Wave Hill, NY
2011
“On Earth,” Ceramics Art and Perception 83, International Contemporary Ceramic Exhibition, Jingdezhen China International Fair: 70–73
Mercurial Objects, Schick Art Gallery, Skidmore College, catalog: 21, 23, 28
Printers and Potters: Creative Exchange, Second China Sanbao International Printmaking Exhibition, catalog: 20
The First Kaolin Cup, China International Ceramic Art Contest and Exhibition
2009
Printers and Potters: Creative Exchange, West Meets East, Sanbao International Contemporary Ceramic Exhibition, Jingdezhen China International Fair
2008
Angelica Pozo, 500 Tiles, An Inspiring Collection of International Works (Lark Books)
Hagai Segev, “Porcelain Still Lifes: The Hybrid Culture and Its Manifestation in Anat Shiftan’s Ceramics,” Art and Perception Technical (2008)
Leigh Taylor Mickelson, “Enjoying the Still Life,” Ceramics Monthly 56, no. 7: 51
The Fifth Biennale for Israeli Ceramics: Clay, Sensation, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv: Design, Art, Design
2007
Elik Mishori, Visual Israeliness, catalogue, Exhibition in the Framework of the 23rd Annual Conference of the Association for Israel Studies (The Dorothy Rothschild Open University Campus, Ra’anana, Israel), June/July 2007, The Open University of Israel, Dept. of Literature, Language and Arts American Craft, February/March issue
2006–07
David Knafo, Territory and Identity: Between Ceramics and Architecture, catalog, The Fourth Biennial for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum: 214–215
2006
Angelica Pozo, Hand Made Tiles (A Lark Ceramics Book, A Division of Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.): 36
“Artist Profile: Anat Shiftan,” Ellenville Journal, July 13, 2006
2004–05
Marek Cecula, The Third Biennial for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel: Design, Art, Design: 93
2004
Irene Walt, Grace Sera, Monogram: Art in the Stations, The Detroit People Mover: 14-15, 72
“One Person Art Exhibition,” Flint Journal, March 22, 2024
Clay Times 10, no. 5
1991
Detroit Free Press, February 22, 1991
1987
Birmingham Eccentric, July 23, 1987
Detroit Free Press, January 27, 1987
Detroit Free Press, July 28, 1987
Detroit Metropolitan, July 1987
1986
Detroit Free Press, January 5, 1986
COLLECTIONS
Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden
Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, NY
Taoxichuan Jingdezhen International Studio, Jingdezhen, China
Zillman Art Museum, Bangor, ME
