Installation view of Joel Shapiro's untitled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Installation view, Joel Shapiro on the Roof, May 1 – Nov 18, 2001, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York © 2024 Joel Shapiro / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Joel Shapiro

Portrait of Joel Shapiro

Photo: Kris Graves

Details:

b. 1941, New York
d. 2025, New York

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One of America’s most renowned artists and a major figure in the history of sculpture in the 20th century, Joel Shapiro—who also worked across drawing and printmaking—pushed the boundaries of sculptural form over the past six decades with a body of work distinguished by its dynamism, complexity, and formal elegance.

Since his participation in the landmark exhibition Anti-Illusion: Procedures/Materials, held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, in 1969, Shapiro sought to transcend the constraints of minimalism and introduced a more referential and psychologically direct mode of art-making. Though he is best known for reshaping the language of contemporary sculpture with cast bronze forms that blur the line between abstraction and figuration, he employed various methods and materials throughout his practice to explore sculpture’s ability to alter one’s sense of space and scale with works that attest to human resilience in the face of adversity.

Monumental public projects were also a major part of Shapiro’s practice. Among his over thirty commissions are large-scale works for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Consulate General, Guangzhou, China, the latter a collaboration with the The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies, Washington, D.C. (FAPE). His work can also be found outside the Embassy of the United States of America, Ottawa, Canada (FAPE); Denver Art Museum, Colorado; Des Moines City Hall, Iowa; John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C.; The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; Sculpture International Rotterdam; and in a major plaza in the city of Orléans, France. His work can be found in important public collections worldwide, including Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate, London; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, among many others.

untitled by Joel Shapiro

Joel Shapiro, 20 Elements, 2004-2005, wood and casein, 10' 2" x 11' x 7' 1" (309.9 cm x 335.3 cm x 215.9 cm) © 2024 Joel Shapiro / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

untitled by Joel Shapiro

Joel Shapiro, Untitled, 2021-2022, bronze, 39-3/4" × 45-3/8" × 22" (101 cm × 115.3 cm × 55.9 cm) © 2024 Joel Shapiro / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

untitled by Joel Shapiro

Joel Shapiro, untitled, 2021, bronze, 85" × 94-1/2" × 35" (215.9 cm × 240 cm × 88.9 cm) © 2024 Joel Shapiro / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

untitled by Joel Shapiro

Joel Shapiro, untitled, 2002-2007, bronze, 13' 4" x 27' 9-1/2" x 12' 11" (406.4 cm x 847.1 cm x 393.7 cm) © 2024 Joel Shapiro / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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Installation view, Joel Shapiro: New Work, Apr 17 – May 15, 2010, Pace Gallery, New York © 2024 Joel Shapiro / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York