From the time she was a child growing up in Rhode Island, Ms Engel exhibited a natural inclination toward and a passion for the visual arts. At an early age, she began expressing herself through drawing and painting, and as an adult, she became a sculptor and graphic designer.

 

Ms. Engel earned a B.A. in Technical Theatre/Liberal Arts from Rhode Island College before moving to New York City in 1980.  After working on several Off, Off Broadway shows as a scenic artist, she began to pursue a career in graphic arts.  She received  a Certificate in Commercial Arts from the Center of Media Arts and took courses at the School of Visual Arts. While attending open sketch classes at the Art Students League of New York, she discovered sculpture—a form that has bee her artistic passion ever since. She continued her education at The League, studying with Rhoda Sherbell, Barney Hodes, Peter Cox, Leonid Lerman, Silya Kiese and Seiji Saito.

 

During the last decade, Ms Engel has exhibited her sculpture extensively in both the New York City area (Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens) and Providence Rhode Island. Her work has been purchased by numerous private collectors in the United States and France and is part of the Art Students League Permanent Collection.  She has received several awards including the Nessa Cohen Memorial Grant, and she was a prize winner in a Catherine Lorillard exhibition.

 

Lilian Engel is currently working on a series of abstract bird sculptures with the objective of capturing the magnificent movement and amazing form of these animals. These works will also honor their ability to adapt to the urban environment and survive.