Vanessa Hoheb
About Vanessa Hoheb
Born in New York City in 1954, Vanessa Hoheb grew up spending time in her father’s sculpture studio. At 16, she began her formal apprenticeship in the studio, learning the skills and techniques of sculptural enlarging, mold making, casting and restoration. The early years in the studio were filled with the excitement of working for artists Willem DeKooning, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Frederick Hart and Jasper Johns
In 1975 Vanessa joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art, working as the Assistant Director for the Reproduction Studio. As senior mold maker, she made molds over the original objects in the museum’s collection, which included 18th century glass, ceramics, gold, silver, ivory, and wood.
Vanessa was invited to teach at Pratt Institute and spent five years teaching mold making and casting to beginning and advanced students in the fine arts, ceramics, jewelry and industrial design programs.
In 1984 Vanessa headed the five member team responsible for restoring the skin of the Statue of Liberty. Vanessa made molds over the statues nose, eyes and hair where corrosion had punctured holes in the copper surface. These molds were utilized by the coppersmiths to make replacement patches for the sculpture surface.
In 1989 Vanessa and her husband moved to Sydney, Australia. She spent the next ten years contributing her technical skills to the Australian art scene. She taught mold making, worked with the conservation community on the restoration of monuments and memorials, and developed the sculpture reproduction program for the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Vanessa and David’s son Dana was born in Australia and they returned to America in 2000.
Vanessa joined Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry as the technical consultant and artist's liaison for the sculptors whose work was cast and fabricated there. She left the foundry in 2016 to devote more time to The American Artists' Hand Archive. She continues to work with artists, galleries and museums as a consultant and guest lecturer in her private practice.
Vanessa and her family live in New Paltz, New York
