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A Canadian artist living in Nashville, Doris Wasserman grew up in the same farmhouse in which her father was born. The land and sky nurtured her and taught her resilience. She was raised near the largest known collection of First Nations’ rock carvings in Canada. Called “Kinoomaagewaabking” by the Algonquin tribe, these “teaching rocks” cultivated in her a profound respect for those who first left their marks on this land. The language in her paintings reflects her deep fascination with symbolism, mark-making, and a sense that she is leaving a trace of herself behind.

Washes of color and instinctive marks made with graphite, charcoal, brushes, sticks, and other utensils are characteristic of her art. As she works, she builds layer upon layer, creating a subliminal narrative within each painting, often scribbling notes to herself in the layers of paint, most of which is disguised or lost as the piece is developed. It is through clues like these that she subtly connects with her viewers. The soft colors and emerging shapes begin to form whimsical scenes that are just out of focus or, as one collector put it, feel as if “sleeping under a dream.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST
A decade ago, Doris Wasserman began a deliberate process of artistic discovery in which her representational work shifted to abstract painting. Winning recognition along her way, in 2015 she won the top award in the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville’s Periscope program for artist entrepreneurs. In 2016, she was awarded a “Flying Solo” exhibition at the Nashville International Airport. A year later, her work was juried into an international touring exhibition originating in Israel and traveling throughout the southeastern United States. In 2018, she was honored to be one of seven artists in the U.S. chosen by Wondros to create a portrait to mark the launch of a historic preventative health program of the National Institutes of Health.

Doris’ work in arts administration began in research, design, and illustration for arts organizations, museums, galleries and colleges in both Canada and the U.S. Until recently, she was the Director of the Marnie Sheridan Gallery at the Harpeth Hall School.

For a decade, she has been a member of Art & Soul Studios in Nashville and is currently a member of their Board. An activist for the Nashville arts community, Doris is an advocate for arts education.

Visit doriswasserman.com to learn more about her work.