Margot Dermody
Margot Dermody Artist Biography
Margot Dermody is an artist living in Pittsburgh, PA. Born in Maryland, she was exposed to art and science at a young age through her mother, an artist, and her father, a mathematician. She received a B.A. in Economics and an M.P.S. in Hotel Administration, both from Cornell University. Margot has lived and worked in San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Nashville. Growing up, she moved from Maryland to upstate New York, and lived in Rome when she was 12 years old, where she learned Italian.
Margot has been exploring and making art for more than 30 years. As a child she had a passion for ceramics, photography, cooking, sewing and performance arts. Despite the breadth and depth of Margot’s creatively infused professional experiences, she felt a need for greater self-expression that could only be satisfied with a full time studio practice. A primarily self-taught artist, Dermody paints with acrylic on canvas, wood panel, and paper and creates mixed-media artworks that incorporate photography, collage, oil and various materials. Margot’s work includes elements of nature and human emotion in a palette that varies from vibrant to monochromatic.
Dermody exhibited work at the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh “Alone, Together” show in February, 2021. She was selected to exhibit her work in the Concept Art Gallery "Full Circle" show, July - August 2021, and the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh 107th Annual Exhibition at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 2019-2020. Her work has also been shown in the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Gallery, William Pitt Union, the Westmoreland Community College Gallery, Gallery One | Collective Works and the Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media. Recently, she was awarded Idea Furnace Sessions for 2021 work in the Artist Residency Program at the world-class Pittsburgh Glass Center. Margot’s artwork and commissioned pieces are held in business spaces and private collections.
Statement
The Dancer Series is a collection of abstract glass sculptures that engage the interplay between movement and form. Each piece is unique, created using the technique of flameworking, kiln forming, and cold working.
Inspired by the fluidity and grace of dancers in motion, these abstract sculptures explore the viewer's perception of motion in space. Refracting light through the use of glass elements, some with flecks of color, create a sense of transformation, while the incorporation of stone provides grounding and stability.
The Dancer Series is a celebration of the constant flux of the creative process, and the unexpected harmonies that emerge from the intersection of different mediums–perhaps, provoking the viewer to see the world in a new, intimate light.
