I grew up in a house filled with stuff, my dad
being a pack rat. It always
frustrated me to think that he
was just letting all this stuff
sit, whereas
I had plenty of imagined uses for it—not that he was willing to part
with
anything.
Since there was not a lot of extra space, the few objects that I
“collected” were miniscule—now I suppose I make up for it by filling
up
the
large building that I call my studio.
To this day, I don’t see what others would call a mess—my
studio is just
a wonderful tumble of raw materials. I think of the
studio as a part of my
head—literally, a creative space. Re-using
discards and found objects
has always had an appeal to me. Not only
do I have a penchant for collecting
things, but the gratification
that comes from giving reclaimed material
new life is unique:
at times I’ve equated it with matchmaking—finding the
perfect
mate for this or that particular object. Sometimes in the process,
things
just pull together as if they were magnetic… and sometimes
it’s
an empirical march through seemingly endless bad marriages:
nothing
seems to go together. But I keep trying.
Education
The
School of Visual Arts, NY, BFA, Sculpture, 1974
Selected
Galleries & Exhibitions
Sedoni
Gallery, NY / 1997-present
SOFA Exposition, IL / 1999-2001
The Noyes Museum of Art, NJ / New
Jersey Crafts Annual / 1998
Peters Valley Craft Education Center,
NJ / “Gallery Without Walls” /
1999
American Craft Council Show, MD / 1999-2005
Myhelan Cultural Arts
Center, NJ / “Salvage” (one man show) /
2000
The Works Gallery, PA / “Not Politics as Usual” (group
show) / 2000
The Noyes Museum of Art, NJ / “Art in Boxes” /
2000
American Museum of Visionary Art / "Bazaart" (Group Show) / 2001-present
The Noyes Museum of Art, NJ / New Jersey Fine Arts Annual
/ 2001
Artisans Center, VA / “Contemporary Tramp Art” (group
show) / 2001
Mark Milliken Gallery, NY / 2001-present
Kohler Arts Center, WI
/ “Treasures” (group show) / 2001
Racine Art Museum,
WI / “New Talent” (group show) / 2001
OXOXO Gallery,
MD / “Underwear” (group show) / 2002
The Works Gallery,
PA / Found Object Art and the Artists Show (group show) / 2002
The
Bruce Museum, CT / Group Show / 2003
Racine Art Museum, WI / “The
Landscape” (group show) / 2003
The Philadelphia Museum of
Art, PA / Crafts Show (group show) / 2003
Mary Lou Zeek Gallery / The "Game " Show / 2004
Mary Lou Zeek Gallery, OR / "Throwing Stones" 2-Man Show
with Kevin Titzer / 2004
Smithsonian Museum Craft Show, Washington, DC / Group Show / 2005
Racine Art Museum, WI / "Opulence" (Group Show) / 2005
Mary Lou Zeek Gallery / "The Other " (curator and artist) / 2006
The Works Gallery, PA / One Man Show / 2006
The Central Gallery, CT / "Trees and Torsos" (Group Show) / 2007
Gallery 31 North, NJ / Group Show / 2007
Stamford Art Center, CT / "Tossed and Found" (Group Show Outdoor Sculpture) / 2007
Collections
Andersen Consulting, TX
/ Corporate Collection
The Noyes Museum of Art, NJ / Permanent Collection
Binney & Smith,
Inc., PA / Corporate Collection
Charles and Lynn Kramer, NJ / Personal
Collection
Christopher Koehler, PA / Personal Collection
Mohawk Industries, GA / Corporate Collection
Awards
New Jersey State Council on the
Arts Fellowship / 2001
Publications
Found Object Art and the
Artists / Dorothy Spencer / Schiffer Publications / 2002
Dream Makers / Brochure / Crayola Publications
/ 2002
Other
Interview with James Carroll / Berks County, PA
TV / 2003
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