Joseph Shuldiner
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1957, Los Angeles, California
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Jack Lenor Larson
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Lloyd Cotsen
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2007 Raw Materials, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 The Presence of Absence: Exploring the Void in Contemporary Wood
Sculpture; SOFA, Chicago, IL
2005 Nature Experiment, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Origin Unknown: Artifacts from a Luminous World, Craft and Folk Art
Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Celebrating Nature: Craft Traditions/Contemporary Expressions,
Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2003 The Inspired Vessel, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002 A Forest of Objects, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2000 Joseph Shuldiner, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1999 Featured Artist; del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
New Work, Shibui Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1998 Design East/West, Japanese American Cultural and Community
Center, Los Angeles, CA
Recent Works; A Show of Hands, Denver, CO
Summer Furniture, Nancy Margolis Gallery, Portland, ME
1997 A Feast of Function, Gallery of Functional Art, Santa Monica, CA
Contemporary Furniture, Tustin Renaissance Gallery, Tustin, CA
Foursome, Galleria el Zocolo, Santa Fe, NM
1994 Joseph Shuldiner: New Work, Gallery of Functional Art,
Santa Monica, CA
1993 Engaging Materials, L.A. Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1992 Transforming Traditions, Japanese American Cultural and Community
Center, Los Angeles, CA
Lights Up!, Gallery of Functional Art, Los Angeles, CA
Chairs & Lights, Joan Robey Gallery, Denver, CO
Architectural Forms, Gallery Eight, La Jolla, CA
1991 And All Through the House, Gallery of Functional Art,
Los Angeles, CA
Decorative Concepts III, The Elements Gallery, Greenwich, CT
1990 Japonesque, Gallery Eight, La Jolla, CA
Furniture & Lighting, Joan Robey Gallery, Denver, CO
Primitive Modern, Asiaphile, West Hollywood, CA
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2007 Julia Cosgrove, "Sticks and Stones," ReadyMade, Issue 29, June/July
2006 Paul Zelanski, Mary Pat Fisher, Shaping Space: The Dynamics of Three- Dimensional Design
Barbara Thornburg, "Let There be Light," Los Angeles Times, September
Susan Heeger, "We Took It Back One Room at a Time," Cottage Living,
October
Kevin Wallace, "Art as Fictional Artefact", Craft Arts International, No. 66
2004 Kevin Wallace, "The Inspired Vessel," Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot, spring
Kevin Wallace, Celebrating Nature: Craft Traditions/ Contemporary
Expressions
2001 Object Lessons, Beauty and Meaning in Art; Guild Publishing
2000 Beautiful Things: Original Art from the Artists of Guild.com;
Guild Publishing
1999 Bruce Schwartz, "Sanctuary", AmericanStyle, fall
1998 George Gehring III, "Ray of Light House," Detour Magazine, September
Residential Lighting, "Design Forum; Home at Heart," May
Southwest Airlines Spirit, "Wish List: Towers of Light," August
1997 Diane M. Bolz, "The Captivating Art of Crafts," Smithsonian Magazine,
April
Ellen Berkovitch, "Powerful Patterns," Albuquerque Journal, July
Rachel Leedham "Positively Glowing," Elle Decoration/Hong Kong, July
Interior Design "Lighting," August
Peter Webster, "Homefront," Departures, July/August
1993 Betty Ann Brown, "Engaging Materials, Inside/Out," Visions Art
Quarterly, winter
1992 Robert Hori, "Transforming Traditions," LAX: The Los Angeles
Exhibition 1992
Sarah McPeck, "Afterglow", House Beautiful, January
1991 Kim Wong, "The Came From Beyond", L.A. Style, July
Barbara Thornburg, "Pieces of Dreams," Los Angeles Times Magazine, Feb.
Richard Van Parys, "Design," Interview Magazine, May
Phyllis Van Doren, "Visual Attractions," San Diego Home/Garden, March
"Lampen-Hauser," Ambiente/Germany, September
1990 Corky Pollan, "Best Bets; Lights of Fancy," New York Magazine, June
ARTIST"S STATEMENT
Raw and Refined
With the inherent dissonance between the raw and the refined serving
as a kind of compass, this work inhabits territory that refuses to
accept either one or the other as its dominating aesthetic. Thus,
eucalyptus leaves that might have undergone a process of refinement on
the way to their encounter with a sewing machine, are instead
incorporated into "fabric" whole and untouched, their untamed
asymmetry fixed in place by the machine's uniform, perfectly formed
stitching. The finished material is the result of an intentionally
orchestrated collision of the undisturbed, in-situ nature of the
organic with the refining ethos of technology.
Leaves are also used in this work to carry primal messages. While
these "raw" words are offered without refining modification, they are
traced in a calligraphic hand alongside elaborately contrived
arabesques, the quintessence of the human impulse to refine. The
placement of elements within the field of each piece also reflects
this basic interplay, as panels expressing the logic of pattern are
juxtaposed with those that suggest the more random selection of the
natural world. As technologically modified materials like felted wool
or plastic adjoin unaltered materials, the resulting dialogue between
raw and refined both sharpens and blurs the distinctions between the
two.
Much of this work is composed of material that would, under normal
circumstances, simply be discarded. Beyond the practical virtues of
recycling however, it is the redemptive quality of transformation
itself that inspires me to collect and reuse what might justifiably be
considered worthless, the sheer joy of turning one thing into another.
Ultimately, this alchemical potential lies coiled in all materials,
whether raw or refined, as they await their moment of transcendence.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Joseph Shuldiner gravitated toward the arts early in life, supported
by his family's creative traditions. The grandson of Joseph Lewitzky,
a Southern California Depression-era visionary painter and nephew of
the late Los Angeles choreographer Bella Lewitzky, he combines a
distinctive Angeleno art sensibility with a love of the organic.
Following his graduation from Immaculate Heart College with a B.A. in
art, Shuldiner co-founded Traction Gallery, one of downtown L.A.'s
first loft galleries in the 1980s. Turning his attention to sculpture,
Shuldiner began his exploration of the interplay between natural
materials and human intervention, a theme he has made his life's work.
Using willow, eucalyptus, leaves, paper and found objects, Shuldiner's
work addresses the inherent tension between the natural state of his
materials and the degree to which they are modified in the creation of
his pieces. The results are both inspired by and a commentary on such
diverse influences as traditional Japanese Shinto aesthetics, animism
and Case Study Architecture of the 1960s. His work has been seen in
many exhibitions, notably, "Origin Unknown," a solo exhibit at the
Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles, "Transforming Traditions" at
the Japan American Cultural Community Center and
"Engaging Materials" at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. He has
also exhibited his work in four solo shows at del Mano Gallery in
Brentwood. Publications featuring Shuldiner's sculptures have included
House Beautiful, Interior Design magazine, Angeles Magazine, New York
Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, Interview, The Los Angeles Times and
The Chicago Daily Tribune. His work has also been featured in the
books, "Beautiful Things" and "Object Lessons."
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Jack Lenor Larson
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Lloyd Cotsen
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2007 Raw Materials, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 The Presence of Absence: Exploring the Void in Contemporary Wood
Sculpture; SOFA, Chicago, IL
2005 Nature Experiment, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Origin Unknown: Artifacts from a Luminous World, Craft and Folk Art
Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Celebrating Nature: Craft Traditions/Contemporary Expressions,
Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2003 The Inspired Vessel, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002 A Forest of Objects, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2000 Joseph Shuldiner, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1999 Featured Artist; del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
New Work, Shibui Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1998 Design East/West, Japanese American Cultural and Community
Center, Los Angeles, CA
Recent Works; A Show of Hands, Denver, CO
Summer Furniture, Nancy Margolis Gallery, Portland, ME
1997 A Feast of Function, Gallery of Functional Art, Santa Monica, CA
Contemporary Furniture, Tustin Renaissance Gallery, Tustin, CA
Foursome, Galleria el Zocolo, Santa Fe, NM
1994 Joseph Shuldiner: New Work, Gallery of Functional Art,
Santa Monica, CA
1993 Engaging Materials, L.A. Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1992 Transforming Traditions, Japanese American Cultural and Community
Center, Los Angeles, CA
Lights Up!, Gallery of Functional Art, Los Angeles, CA
Chairs & Lights, Joan Robey Gallery, Denver, CO
Architectural Forms, Gallery Eight, La Jolla, CA
1991 And All Through the House, Gallery of Functional Art,
Los Angeles, CA
Decorative Concepts III, The Elements Gallery, Greenwich, CT
1990 Japonesque, Gallery Eight, La Jolla, CA
Furniture & Lighting, Joan Robey Gallery, Denver, CO
Primitive Modern, Asiaphile, West Hollywood, CA
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2007 Julia Cosgrove, "Sticks and Stones," ReadyMade, Issue 29, June/July
2006 Paul Zelanski, Mary Pat Fisher, Shaping Space: The Dynamics of Three- Dimensional Design
Barbara Thornburg, "Let There be Light," Los Angeles Times, September
Susan Heeger, "We Took It Back One Room at a Time," Cottage Living,
October
Kevin Wallace, "Art as Fictional Artefact", Craft Arts International, No. 66
2004 Kevin Wallace, "The Inspired Vessel," Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot, spring
Kevin Wallace, Celebrating Nature: Craft Traditions/ Contemporary
Expressions
2001 Object Lessons, Beauty and Meaning in Art; Guild Publishing
2000 Beautiful Things: Original Art from the Artists of Guild.com;
Guild Publishing
1999 Bruce Schwartz, "Sanctuary", AmericanStyle, fall
1998 George Gehring III, "Ray of Light House," Detour Magazine, September
Residential Lighting, "Design Forum; Home at Heart," May
Southwest Airlines Spirit, "Wish List: Towers of Light," August
1997 Diane M. Bolz, "The Captivating Art of Crafts," Smithsonian Magazine,
April
Ellen Berkovitch, "Powerful Patterns," Albuquerque Journal, July
Rachel Leedham "Positively Glowing," Elle Decoration/Hong Kong, July
Interior Design "Lighting," August
Peter Webster, "Homefront," Departures, July/August
1993 Betty Ann Brown, "Engaging Materials, Inside/Out," Visions Art
Quarterly, winter
1992 Robert Hori, "Transforming Traditions," LAX: The Los Angeles
Exhibition 1992
Sarah McPeck, "Afterglow", House Beautiful, January
1991 Kim Wong, "The Came From Beyond", L.A. Style, July
Barbara Thornburg, "Pieces of Dreams," Los Angeles Times Magazine, Feb.
Richard Van Parys, "Design," Interview Magazine, May
Phyllis Van Doren, "Visual Attractions," San Diego Home/Garden, March
"Lampen-Hauser," Ambiente/Germany, September
1990 Corky Pollan, "Best Bets; Lights of Fancy," New York Magazine, June
ARTIST"S STATEMENT
Raw and Refined
With the inherent dissonance between the raw and the refined serving
as a kind of compass, this work inhabits territory that refuses to
accept either one or the other as its dominating aesthetic. Thus,
eucalyptus leaves that might have undergone a process of refinement on
the way to their encounter with a sewing machine, are instead
incorporated into "fabric" whole and untouched, their untamed
asymmetry fixed in place by the machine's uniform, perfectly formed
stitching. The finished material is the result of an intentionally
orchestrated collision of the undisturbed, in-situ nature of the
organic with the refining ethos of technology.
Leaves are also used in this work to carry primal messages. While
these "raw" words are offered without refining modification, they are
traced in a calligraphic hand alongside elaborately contrived
arabesques, the quintessence of the human impulse to refine. The
placement of elements within the field of each piece also reflects
this basic interplay, as panels expressing the logic of pattern are
juxtaposed with those that suggest the more random selection of the
natural world. As technologically modified materials like felted wool
or plastic adjoin unaltered materials, the resulting dialogue between
raw and refined both sharpens and blurs the distinctions between the
two.
Much of this work is composed of material that would, under normal
circumstances, simply be discarded. Beyond the practical virtues of
recycling however, it is the redemptive quality of transformation
itself that inspires me to collect and reuse what might justifiably be
considered worthless, the sheer joy of turning one thing into another.
Ultimately, this alchemical potential lies coiled in all materials,
whether raw or refined, as they await their moment of transcendence.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Joseph Shuldiner gravitated toward the arts early in life, supported
by his family's creative traditions. The grandson of Joseph Lewitzky,
a Southern California Depression-era visionary painter and nephew of
the late Los Angeles choreographer Bella Lewitzky, he combines a
distinctive Angeleno art sensibility with a love of the organic.
Following his graduation from Immaculate Heart College with a B.A. in
art, Shuldiner co-founded Traction Gallery, one of downtown L.A.'s
first loft galleries in the 1980s. Turning his attention to sculpture,
Shuldiner began his exploration of the interplay between natural
materials and human intervention, a theme he has made his life's work.
Using willow, eucalyptus, leaves, paper and found objects, Shuldiner's
work addresses the inherent tension between the natural state of his
materials and the degree to which they are modified in the creation of
his pieces. The results are both inspired by and a commentary on such
diverse influences as traditional Japanese Shinto aesthetics, animism
and Case Study Architecture of the 1960s. His work has been seen in
many exhibitions, notably, "Origin Unknown," a solo exhibit at the
Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles, "Transforming Traditions" at
the Japan American Cultural Community Center and
"Engaging Materials" at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. He has
also exhibited his work in four solo shows at del Mano Gallery in
Brentwood. Publications featuring Shuldiner's sculptures have included
House Beautiful, Interior Design magazine, Angeles Magazine, New York
Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, Interview, The Los Angeles Times and
The Chicago Daily Tribune. His work has also been featured in the
books, "Beautiful Things" and "Object Lessons."