Her work is informed by a sensitivity to the essential nature of the materials she uses, an awareness of natural processes and forms, and her specific understanding of the relationship of these to the human body. While it is marked by a reductive aesthetic, unlike minimalist work it explores the irreproducible. She has been formed as an artist by many factors in addition to her formal art training.
Like many artists, she drew on anything she could get her hands on from the time she could hold a crayon. And after being enrolled in ballet lessons, which were quite unsuccessful, she was signed up for a children's art class at the local art league. The class was team taught by a practicing painter and sculptor; they allowed their students to work with materials of their own choosing on individualized projects, providing one-on-one input and encouragement as needed. Mary thrived in this unique environment, and took this class every Saturday for six years. She also developed a love of nature and the outdoors, walking in the woods most weekends and camping every summer. When she was twelve, a physical required for a backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail uncovered a serious orthopedic issue. She underwent complex surgery followed by a ten month recovery period, the first six of which she was confined to bed in a body cast. When she was again able to walk and to attend art classes, she felt ready to try something new and enrolled in a ceramics class at a local art center taught by the ceramic sculptor Syd Carpenter. This opened up a whole new world for her and she continued to work with clay throughout high school.
She earned a BFA with a focus on ceramic sculpture and a BA in English from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA)/Tufts University joint 5-year program. Following her graduation and funded by the SMFA's Alice Pratt Traveling Scholarship, she travelled to Europe and for a year studied ceramic sculpture and conducted research into low-fire glazes and clay bodies for sculptural applications at l'École des Arts Decoratifs in Geneva, Switzerland.
While she eventually transitioned to working two-dimensionally, her training as a sculptor is evidenced in her sense of space and her extensive work with clay informs her approach to materials. Walking in the woods and camping continue to be critical to her work; her work is informed by the granite landscape of Cape Ann, the boreal forests of northern New England, and most recently the redwood forests and volcanic landscapes of California.
Her work is exhibited throughout the northeast. It can be seen through February 24, 2008 in "Consequences of Geometry", a three-person exhibit at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, MA. Other recent exhibits include a solo show, "In Substance", in the main gallery of the Artists Foundation in Boston, MA; "Industrial Strength," a three-person exhibit curated by Kathleen Bitetti at Emmanuel College in Boston; and "Mary Bucci McCoy: Oblique Perspectives" in the Schlosberg Gallery of Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA.
2/08
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