Bella Feldman(American) 1930-2024 Bella Feldman was a prominent Jewish-American sculptor and installation artist known for her moving and thought-provoking pieces. Born in New York City in 1930 to Polish immigrant parents, Feldman spent her youth hearing of the horrors of World War II and of the deaths of her family members who had remained in Europe. This formative and personal connection to war, violence and grief later became a cornerstone in Feldman’s creative expression. Feldman received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queens College in New York City. In 1951 she moved to California with her husband where she later accepted a teaching position at California College of the Arts. In 1971 she and her family moved to Uganda where Feldman taught art for two years before returning to the United States. When she returned to CCA, she faced discriminatory threats to her job. Feldman fought back and became an advocate for other female teachers, ensuring job security and equality for her colleagues. An innovative pioneer among women sculptors, Feldman creates friction and dynamism in her work through her use of contrasting materials. Her pieces visualize themes drawn from Feldman’s personal experiences of inequality, grief and violence. Her sculptural collection War Toys, beginning in 1992, addresses our society’s preoccupation with war with a dose of humor. Feldman’s approach to size, form and weight gives these machines a clunky and clumsy appearance, stripping them of their power. Feldman continued to explore motifs of dichotomy in her later collection, Out of Order, beginning in 2003. These highly detailed pieces utilize layered panels of engraved glass and delicate machines to play on themes of strength versus fragility. The highly structured and rigid nature of the glass panels and steel elements similarly play against the sketchy artistry of Feldman’s engravings. Bella Feldman’s works can be found in numerous prestigious collections including that of the DeYoung Museum, the Oakland Museum of California, and the Palm Springs Museum, among many others. Her work has also been shown in countless exhibitions and shows including recently at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco in 2018. Throughout her career, Feldman remained committed to challenging societal expectations through her art as well as encouraging her audiences to look closer and think deeper. She passed away in 2024, leaving behind a remarkable and impactful legacy.