Barbara Segal

Barbara Segal is a sculptor and stone carver based in Yonkers, New York.

Segal studied at Pratt Institute in New York City in the early 1970's and spent two years at the L'Ècole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.She worked in fine marble studios in Italy such as Tommasi Fonderia and SGF Studio Scultura, and with Jacques Lipshitz, Augustin Cárdenas, and Max Bill.She returned to New York in the late 70's and made product models for Avon Cosmetics in the 1980's.

Barbara Segal creates sculptures carved from stone such as marble, onyx, and calcite. She uses traditional carving tools such as chiselsand stone cutters and acquires material from stone quarries all over the globe. She re-recreates pop and fashion icons such as a Louis Vuitton handbag and a Chanel gift bag in stone. Her work explores society's fascination with status symbols and the impact they have on culture. By turning these cultural objects into 100-pound sculptures made from stone, Segal transforms them into the semblance of a historic relic. One of her larger pieces is a 3 foot tall Chanel bag that weighs 2,000 pounds.

In 2005, she created two cast aluminum reliefs called Muhheakantuck (The River that Flows Two Ways) that were installed on the bridge at Yonkers Station. The sculptures are abstract representations of the Hudson River. Segal has spoken on her interests in "unearthing that history and telling us its story through sculpture".

She has held solo exhibitions at The Neuberger Museum of Art, the Hudson River Museum, and Vassar College.

Segal teaches Sculpture at New York Academy of Art and at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She also teaches workshops at her art studio in New York.

She was awarded a Housing and Urban Development grant in 1995, a Mayoral Citation in 2007, an America for the Arts Award in 2008, a Yonkers Visionary Award in 2015, a New York State Assembly and Senate citations in 2015.

Segal's work is in the collection at the MTA Arts for Transit, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the White House, the Neuberger Museum of Art and the private collections of Leslie Wexler and Malcom Forbes.