Joel Shapiro is a prominent figure in contemporary American Art.
Joel Shapiro in his Long Island City, New York studio, 2024. Photo: Kyle Knodell, courtesy Pace Gallery.
Joel Shapiro has established himself as a prominent figure in modern American sculpture, particularly since his participation in the 1969 “Anti-Illusion: Procedures/Materials” exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
The artist, now 82, attributes the beginning of his career to his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in India. It was there, amidst teaching villagers to construct latrines and smokeless ovens, that he developed a passion for Indian sculpture, which revealed to him the psychological aspects of the medium. “India,” he would later reflect, “opened up the possibility of becoming an artist to me.”
Born in Queens, New York, in 1941, Shapiro attended New York University, where he received his B.A. in 1964 and his M.A. in 1969, coinciding with the debut of “Anti-Illusion.” For the subsequent half-century, his creations, characterized by abstract and geometric forms, often with a hint of the human figure, explored the delicate balance between gravity and structure. Designed to be viewed from multiple perspectives, his sculptures encourage observers to contemplate their own physical and psychological interaction with space.
Visitors to the upcoming solo exhibition at New York’s Pace Gallery can anticipate this exact experience, which will be enhanced by a catalogue containing an essay by the esteemed poet and author Vincent Katz. Marking Shapiro’s first showing at Pace since 2014, the exhibition features bold new sculptures, including the central piece, ARK, an imposing assembly of wooden boards and beams that seems to cling together precariously.
Shapiro’s studio in Long Island City, New York, 2024. Photo: Kyle Knodell, courtesy Pace Gallery.
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