Bio: Born and raised in New Jersey, Deborah Way is a contemporary artist living in western Massachusetts. She completed an undergraduate degree in studio art at Hampshire College in 1994. Ever since, she has worked as an editor and writer, and has been making art and craft for herself and close contacts, participating in several local solo and group exhibitions over the years. Ranging in size from intimate to immersive, her work tends towards the abstract, organic, and psychological. She mixes a welcoming, handmade sensibility with conversations started by such artists as Louise Bourgeois and Eva Hesse. She is currently working towards her MFA in Studio Art at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, with a projected completion date of summer 2025.

About the work: Working largely in the medium of soft sculpture, I make work that is a physical manifestation of what we hide and what we cannot help but reveal. While past pieces were about relationships (who gets to define boundaries, and how a bond is formed while maintaining separation), current works are more focused on singular psychological matters. Secret fears are alleviated when allowed to be examined; allowing such vulnerability is admirable, but often comes at a cost.

I’m interested in societal notions of motherhood, caretaking, and the desire for emotional comfort. Materials such as fabric and papier-mâché are chosen as familiar, touch-friendly parties and to call to mind apparel and the human form. Fabrics are chosen with the intent to induce nostalgia or conjure specific familial figures. Wire elements add contrasting elements that may represent dark cages or industrial structures.

I enjoy capturing weight and fluidity in a static shape, and exploring the tension between hard and soft, fuzzy and in-focus, and man-made versus organic. Other interests include our planet’s environmental emergency and the resistance and resilience we are called upon to use and grow. Visual influences include cellular structures and diatoms; comfort objects, such as security blankets and teddy bears; and medical illustrations. 

[updated Dec. 15, 2024]