Michelle Jaffé is an American interdisciplinary artist, known for her immersive participatory installations combining sculpture, sound, and performative video. Symbols, forms, and concepts in her work are often influenced by political, spiritual, and psychological themes. Prior to her career as an artist, Jaffé was notable in the New York City fashion scene for her hat and accessory designs.
Early life and education
Jaffé lived and was educated in Europe from ages fourteen to twenty-three. Her paternal grandparents lived in Shanghai and childhood exposure to both traditional Chinese and Japanese art had a significant influence on her visual sensibility and artistic development.
In 1979, Jaffé earned a BA Honors in Fine Arts and French literature at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. She studied stone carving at the Sculpture Center School in 1991, sculpture at the New York Studio School in 1992, and sound at Harvestworks Digital Media in 2002, and Jewelry Design at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 1995.
Artwork
Jaffé's mature body of work combines sculpture, sound and vocal compositions, and video within installations that prompt active listening. Her formative sculptures made from steel, aluminum, and other malleable materials, resemble shapes and forms that evoke armor, such as breastplates, chastity belts, and medieval codpieces. Her “Vestment Series” (2000-2007) of metal sculptures envision clothing as a form of both physical and psychological shelter. Regarding two particular sculptures from the series, Breastplate (2002) and Preying Mantis (2002), Olivia Kohler-Maga, Assistant Director of the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery at George Washington University, observed that, “In Breastplate, she takes a piece of armor—something that is meant to protect you—and it becomes almost delicate and airy, floating off the wall. In case you think the work isn't fit for battle, the back edges are fitted with menacing, serrated edges. The piece next to it, Preying Mantis, takes the forms a step further, likening it to an insect known for its attack.”
Jaffé's mature body of work combines sculpture, sound and vocal compositions, and video within installations that prompt active listening. Her formative sculptures made from steel, aluminum, and other malleable materials, resemble shapes and forms that evoke armor, such as breastplates, chastity belts, and medieval codpieces. Her “Vestment Series” (2000-2007) of metal sculptures envision clothing as a form of both physical and psychological shelter. Regarding two particular sculptures from the series, Breastplate (2002) and Preying Mantis (2002), Olivia Kohler-Maga, Assistant Director of the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery at George Washington University, observed that, “In Breastplate, she takes a piece of armor—something that is meant to protect you—and it becomes almost delicate and airy, floating off the wall. In case you think the work isn't fit for battle, the back edges are fitted with menacing, serrated edges. The piece next to it, Preying Mantis, takes the forms a step further, likening it to an insect known for its attack.”
Around the year 2000, Jaffé started exploring sound alongside her sculptural works. Some of her notable audiovisual works include Wappen Field, exhibited at Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2011; Bosi Contemporary gallery in New York in 2012; Beall Center for Art +Technology at UC Irvine in 2013; Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky in 2015; New Media Gallery in New Westminster, Canada in 2017, and Soul Junk, exhibited at Milton Art Bank in Milton, Pennsylvania in 2017; White Box in New York City in 2019 and Murmur/Mutter/Yell exhibited at 11 Rivington, New York in 2021.