Nancy Calef
Nancy Calef is a contemporary American figurative painter, illustrator and author. Her work is distinguished by the technique of sculpting off the canvas with clay to produce paintings in three-dimensional high relief. Calef is also a singer/songwriter. Biography Born in New York City, Calef graduated from the Bronx High School of Science at age 15 and received a scholarship from the College of New Rochelle to study painting and sculpture. She exhibits widely in museums and galleries in solo and group shows. Calef has lived in Europe and Thailand and has traveled throughout the U.S., Mexico, Central America, Southeast Asia, India and Nepal. She has lived in San Francisco since 1977. Calef’s studio is in the city’s North Beach district where she exhibits in numerous galleries and the Beat Museum. Calef is co-author with Jody Weiner of Peoplescapes: My Story from Purging to Painting. The memoir chronicles Calef’s evolution from child model suffering anorexia and bulimia, through recovery and maturation into a multi-disciplined artist. The book contains 149 color images of her 3D oil paintings. “Expressing myself through art provided a foothold to wrestle my self-destructive demons and connect to the world. I channeled those negative impulses into disciplined production,”