Work samples
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October: Finding a Way
When I started my "October" painting, I thought I would be building on the looseness and drama that had preceded it in “September”. But for reasons I haven’t been able to discern yet, it turned instead to geometry and an overriding concern for the expression of movement through composition. I started my creative adult life as an architect. For twenty-two years I studied and practiced the discipline of architecture. During those years the beauty and power of such concerns as functional relationships of spaces, structural and construction integrity, and the elegance of geometric patterns were drilled into me by great teachers and experience. This is not the first time these sorts of concerns have surfaced in my painting and sculpture. The lessons learned early in life have a way of staying with you. Though, it is nice to notice that within the geometric structure of “October” you can find the swirling, dripping, smudged, brushed and colorful play that was so prominent in “September”.
Available for PurchaseThrough Xanadu Gallery, Scottsdale Arizona Catalog and the artist. Price: $3000
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August: A Memory
August I wanted to write about August but had to make time August, filled with contradictions Bits of yellow-brown leaves, punctuating deep greens The first leaves of fall are not retained by August trees But are shed in haste among the shadows of their timber August, with songs of late summer insects Crickets calling out in attendance Rabbits nibbling the hostas While grey skies frame the first sights and sounds Of Canadian geese making their way south August, long and languid, anticipating much School years and winter holidays The color of fall, October breezes, September dusks As a child, it was the last of freedom As a student, it was days of daydreams My father was born in August Thinking of him is missing him The air is more still in August We can hear our hearts mourning their loss Time slows in August August, warm and wet The rhythm of air-conditioners The repetition of fans August, everyone busy with plans Of September and the treasures of June and July I love August, even in the city, hot and empty A time for packing up and going home For visiting cemeteries and reading books Of sitting on rooftops and staring at stars For napping and eating ice cream, that drips through your fingers August, long, deep, quiet August Warm August, still August August, where dreams are postponed, when love kisses goodbye August days and August nights Where life becomes the art of waiting August, when the earth starts to slumber The sun begins its retreat Memory freezes the shadows of summer Our hearts expand by its heat August, that every single year, causes me to weep
About Steven
Artist Statement: Steven Marc Shapiro
Overview: My work is informed by twenty years of pursuing architecture, being immersed in the process of design and construction, and the challenges of designing with both man-made and natural materials. My current work is focused on non-objective abstraction, but also echoes my experiences designing the spaces, forms, and edifices for buildings. However, the work is also reflective of many years attending to the… more
The Months
This is a new series, a yearlong study about the act of making art. Most people who know me know that in February 2021 in the middle of the pandemic, I stopped teaching art. My teaching career ended 40 years after it began. I found myself with time on my hands. Naturally, my personal creative work attracted more of my attention. I decided to paint one painting or create one work of art every month for a year. It could be about anything or nothing. It could employ any materials, any methods. The primary goal is to become a witness to my own process. In addition, I have embarked on a folio challenge, a reflection through text and drawing examining the work of five decades. I am seeking an understanding of where to go next by looking carefully at where I have already traveled. The monthly paintings are intended to facilitate a similar goal. They have been specifically designed to encourage a maximum degree of experimentation and freedom so that an artistic language might be discovered without preconception. That is it, one painting a month and a year of reflections through text and drawing. Where I will wind up next June, I do not know, and I have purposefully tried to avoid predicting the outcome. I am here for the ride wherever it takes me.
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April
Acrylic and ink on canvas, 30 x 30 inches, part of a series of twelve paintings, "The Months".
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March
Acrylic paint and ink on Masonite board with wood and nails.
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January
Acrylic and ink on canvas with wood and three-dimensional construction.
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December
Acrylic and ink on canvas, 30 x 30 inches
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June30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas
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July30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas
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August30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas
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September30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas
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October30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas
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November30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas
Architecturally Inspired
Architecturally inspired works developed from a combination of observation, invention and memory.
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May
Acrylic paint, pencil and ink on plywood and Masonite board support, 30 x 30 inches
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City on a Table 29 x 12 inches , Acrylic, charcoal and ink on wood panel
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City Still-life11 x 14 inches, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on canvas
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Aqueduct and Barge12 x 12 inches, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on wood panel
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Two Apples9 x 12 inches, Acrylic, ink, gouache, pencil on paper
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I was thinking of Italy9 x 12 inches, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on canvas
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City on a Table40 x 60 inches, Acrylic, and oil on canvas
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For the Children50 x 50 inches, Oil and charcoal on canvas
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Académie Bridge 110 x 10 inches, Pastel, ink, pencil on paper. Permanent collection Venice Biennale Architecture Section
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Académie Bridge 210 x 10 inches, Pastel, ink, pencil on paper. Permanent collection Venice Biennale Architecture Section
Expression, abstraction and non-objective work
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Winter50 x 48 inch, Acrylic, charcoal, and oil on canvas
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Building Blocks40 x 60 inches, Acrylic on canvas
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House of Fall30 x 60 inches, Oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas
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Spanish Garden for Bethe22 x 86 inches, Acrylic and oil diptych on stretched canvases
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Journey12 x 18 inch diptych, Oil and acrylic on canvas
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Tower10 x 17, Acrylic and oil on canvas
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Winter Rain12 x 12 inch, Acrylic and ink on paper
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Canyon11 x 11 inches, Acrylic , ink and watercolor on linen paper
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Homage to Albers8 x 8 inch, Watercolor and pencil on paper
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Wondering12.5 x 12.75 inches, Watercolor on hand made paper
Continuous Line
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Summer Line50 x 79 inches, Oil and acrylic on canvas
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Broken Wing36 x 48 inches, Acrylic and oil on canvas
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Through a Looking Glass18 x 18 inches, Oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas
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Mountains from Mountains30 x 50inches, Acrylic and oil on canvas
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Rolling Hills16 x 79 inches, Acrylic and oil on canvas
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Artifact and Shadows23 x 42 inches, Acrylic and oil on canvas
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Orange Line on Blue Mist4 x 8 inches, Acrylic on wood panel
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Female Space12 x 18 inches, Acrylic and ink on paper
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Blue Dance4 x 4 inches, Acrylic, ink, pencil and oil on wood panel
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Smoke Rings12 x 12 inches, Acrylic, oil and ink on wood panel
Exploring the Figure
From my earliest days as an artist the figure has been a source of inspiration and interest. Although I don't think of myself as a figurative artist, working with the figure both through observation and invention have influenced my work compositionally and with respect to the language of form that proliferates through it.
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Adam and Eve 50 x 79 inches, collage - mixed medi on plywood,.jpg
50 x 79 inches, Mixed Media: painting, collage, paper, canvas, cardboard, acrylic paint on plywood support. A large collage construction that explores the old testament story in contemporary terms.
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Female figure on a stool_1.jpg
8 x 10 inches, Acrylic and charcoal on wood panel
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Female Looking Left4 x 6 inches, Acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil on linen paper
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Sleeping Venus36" x 48", Oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas, A narrative tale about the state of dreaming as an experience of the city.
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Female seated nude with outstretched arm4 x 6 inches, Gouache, ink and acrylic on paper
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Female Back9 x 12 inches, Acrylic, charcoal, pencil and ink on cardboard
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Reclining female11 x 14 inches, Acrylic, gouache, ink and charcoal on paper
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Yellow Male3 x 5 inches, Acrylic, pencil and charcoal on wood panel
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Model turning in an old chair10 x 10 inch, Acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil on wood panel
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Model Looking Back14 x 16 inches, Acrylic and charcoal on canvas
Thinking Three-dimensionally
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Theater of Time6 x 12 x 3 inches, Bronze from wood and wax maquette, for George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, New Jersey
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Adam and Eve12 x 18 x 4 inches, Low fired clay and acrylic paint finish, front and back views
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Temple of the Winds6 x 12 x 3 inches, Bronze from wood and wax maquette, for George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, New Jersey
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Jerusalem House18 x 18 x 6 inches, Mixed media construction: cardboard, wood, found objects and acrylic paint. Front and back views. Commissioned work for Center Stage Theater, Baltimore, Maryland
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City of Children16 x 24 x 10 inches, mixed media; plywood, wood, paper, phototransfer, ink, acrylic paint and foot-locker assemblage
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Theater of Love8 x 8 x 24 inches, Mixed Media: wood, cardboard, canvas, found objects, paper, and acrylic paint.
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The Tempest6 x 9 x 2 inches, Mixed media: cigar box, plaster, wood , cardboard, paper and acrylic paint. Commissioned for the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival.
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Cathedral6 x 10 x 2 inches, Mixed Media: wood, cigar box, cardboard, acrylic paint
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Rumination on a Bowl14 x 8 inch, Low fired red and white clay
Sketchbook Journal
For the past thirty years my journal/sketchbooks have played an essential role in my work. They act as incubator and laboratory for nearly all of my projects, paintings, and constructions as well as a chronicle of my thoughts and ideas about the arts and their role in society. This selection of images representing the spectrum of my investigations..
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Sketchbook EntryVarious media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
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Sketchbook EntryVarious media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
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Sketchbook EntryVarious media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
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Sketchbook Entry
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Sketchbook EntryVarious media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
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Sketchbook EntryVarious media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
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Sketchbook EntryVarious media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
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Sketchbook EntryVarious media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
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Sketchbook EntryVarious media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
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Sketchbook EntryVarious media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes