Joel Shapiro: Plaster, Paper, Wood, and Wire

Joel Shapiro: Plaster, Paper, Wood, and Wire explores Shapiro’s artistic practice through his engagement with specific materials. Best known for his large-scale bronze sculptures, Shapiro has routinely turned to plaster and other media to explore avenues of creative growth and experiment with new ideas. 

The exhibition takes as a starting point important works from the Gallery’s collection—including sculptures in plaster, wood, and wire; powerful minimalist charcoal drawings; and newly acquired woodblock prints that explore color and geometry—and presents new work by the artist in dialogue with the collection objects. The objects on view illustrate Shapiro’s versatility as an artist and highlight key turning points during his decades-long career. As a special accompaniment to the exhibition, two monumental outdoor sculptures by Shapiro grace the Gallery’s fourth-floor sculpture terrace.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.

Image:  Joel Shapiro, Untitled, 2002. Painted wood and wire. Yale University Art Gallery, Janet and Simeon Braguin Fund. © Joel Shapiro/Artists Rights Society (ARS)

Joel Shapiro: Plaster, Paper, Wood, and Wire (publication date: October 2, 2018) will offer readers a thought-provoking investigation of the possibilities to be found in the intersections between different media and between abstract and figurative art. Covering Shapiro's less-familiar work in a variety of other media (as in the exhibition), particularly plaster, which Shapiro has turned to repeatedly during his long career. 

In this fascinating book, Pamela Franks examines how the artist’s explorations in plaster echo throughout his frequently shifting art practice, inspiring works in wood, wire, paper, and other materials. The publication includes pieces ranging in scale from small to room-sized, as well as paper collages, which serve both as inspiration for his sculptural work and as works of art in their own right. Through a close look at all of these objects, the book studies how Shapiro blurs the line between figuration and geometric abstraction, and it documents variations on some of the artist’s most recognizable forms. Installation photographs situate Shapiro’s works in space and in curated groupings.