The National Sculpture Society awards the 2022 Alex J. Ettl Grant to Elizabeth Jordan. The Grant is presented to sculptors who have demonstrated a commitment to sculpting and an outstanding ability in their body of work.

NSS Fellows Lee Hutt (from MA) and Simon Kogan (from WA), along with NSS Elected Member Deon Duncan (from UT), served as the 2022 jurors. About Jordan, Kogan states, “Creating the sculptural language for an idea is hard. Elizabeth Jordan speaks a few and does not hesitate to learn a new one. Her sculptures are more than they appear to be.” Duncan adds that Jordan is “a sculptor that has achieved a level of grace and form through her native intellect and decades of sustained effort. Her working themes embody a refinement and profound understanding of sculptural form.”

Jordan’s work uses multiple materials to produce unique, organic forms, often taking inspiration from animals and nature. She studied at the University of South Florida (Tampa, FL); Tamarind Institute of Lithography (Albuquerque NM); Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ) and Penland School of Craft (Bakersville, NC). After living in New York City for 30 years, she currently resides and has a studio in Bayonne, NJ. In 2020, she had a solo exhibition, The Children in the Wood or a Trip to the Madhouse, at  Ivy Brown Gallery in New York City.  She has also exhibited at Village West Gallery (Jersey City, NJ); Andrew Edlin Gallery (New York, NY) and the Carter Burden Gallery (New York NY).

The Society has awarded the Alex J. Ettl Grant since 1989. Alex J. Ettl (1898–1992) was a member of the National Sculpture Society’s board of directors and established the award in his name with an endowed gift. The Grant consists of an unrestricted cash prize of $5000 and a quarter-page ad in Sculpture Review magazine.