What They Are Saying

Chopped-Up Piano Parts Inspire New Art Forms
Susan Hodara, New York Times
Click here to read the review at nytimes.com

"Fascinating for anyone interested in the piano, music or art, the sculptures of Penny Putnam and Shauna Holiman are both intricate and beguiling, taking what looks on the surface like a familiar form and transporting it into the realm of Surrealism."

John Rockwell, Former Arts Critic, New York Times

"Piano as Art, a creative collaboration between Penny Putnam and Shauna Holiman, is full of surprises. Sculptures made of the innards of pianos take on a life of their own, while suggesting the rhythms and tones that they once produced. Collages refer more broadly to the world of music, and photographs reveal the beauty of the forms and materials that were once combined in the finished piano. From sensuous ivories that served as piano keys to the battered wood of old piano legs, the elements of these works evoke the melodies of the past even as the works themselves have a life of their own, freed from the pianos that originally encased them."

Sheila Canby, Metropolitan Museum of Art

"A wonderful re-imagining of the piano as sculpture, architecture and the stuff of mythic creatures. The grace, wit and vitality of this art are really marvelous."

Brian Levine, Executive Director, Glenn Gould Foundation

"This is a spectacular exhibition. Piano As Art is truly transformative postmodern art. Without a trace of cynicism, it is alternately beautiful, thought provoking, rhythmic and musical, often moving and, in several cases, quite playful and funny. Even after 30 years in the piano business, this art has changed forever the way my staff and I view the piano."

Sara Faust, President, Faust Harrison Pianos