Peligian produces breathtaking work and belongs to a côterie of powerful women who continue to influence the contemporary art historical conversation, including Joan Jonas, Agnes Martin, Zilia Sanchez, Phyllida Barlow, and Louise Bourgeois.
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, the artist received a scholarship to RISD Saturday School at nine years old and never looked back. In 1983 Peligian lost a large body of work to a flood which destroyed thousands of her pieces. Starting from scratch, she reopened her studio in Manhattan and then Long Island City, ultimately expanding and shifting her practice to include sculpture, installation, and video.
Peligian’s sculptures often directly reference her own body, as she rolls herself in material and places an indestructible elemental object inside the form, before sealing the sculptures with fiberglass.
What a Little Doll, 2024 — Cast urethene 3 x 6 x variable inches (7.6 x 15.2 x variable cm)Avian Lux #3, 2021-22 — Oil, urethane on aluminum 48″ x 54″ (122 x 137cm)Avian Lux #4, 2022-23 — Oil, urethane on aluminum 54″ x 66″ (137 x 167cm)Avian Lux #5, 2022-24 — Oil, urethane on aluminum 48″ x 54″ (122 x 137cm)Avian Lux before Secrets #1, 2021-22 — Oil, urethane on aluminum 48″ x 54″ (122 x 137cm)He by She, 2013-24 — Mirror polished steel, aluminum, fiberglass, urethane, paint, and secret object 42″ x 84″ x variable dimensions (122 x 137cm)Wish, 2018-24 — Marble in 18k gold 17″ diameter by variable (43cm)If Only, 2018-24 — Marble in 18k gold 17″ diameter by variable (43cm)HMP, 2024 — Too Hot To Handle Silkscreen print2021 — Mourners Silkscreen print2021 — Too Hot To Handle Silkscreen print2021 — Too Hot To Handle Silkscreen printOutake, 2021 — Too Hot To Handle Silkscreen print2021 — Mourners Silkscreen printHMP, 2024 — Mourners Silkscreen printHMP, 2021-22 — Too Hot To Handle Silkscreen print2022-23 — Mourners Silkscreen print
