Work samples

  • April: De Stijl Dream
    April: De Stijl Dream

    One of twelve works in series exploring the emotional content of the months of the year and the passage of time.

    Available for Purchase
  • 	January: The Dominant Void
    January: The Dominant Void

    One of twelve works in series exploring the emotional content of the months of the year and the passage of time.

    Available for Purchase
  • October: Finding a Way
    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 Purchase
  • August: A Memory
    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.

  • April
    April

    Acrylic and ink on canvas, 30 x 30 inches, part of a series of twelve paintings, "The Months".

  • March
    March

    Acrylic paint and ink on Masonite board with wood and nails.

  • January
    January

    Acrylic and ink on canvas with wood and three-dimensional construction.

  • December
    December

    Acrylic and ink on canvas, 30 x 30 inches

  • June
    June
    30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas
  •  July
    July
    30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas
  • August
    August
    30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas
  • September
    September
    30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas
  •  October
    October
    30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas
  • November
    November
    30 x 30 inch, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on stretched canvas

Architecturally Inspired

Architecturally inspired works developed from a combination of observation, invention and memory.

  • May
    May

    Acrylic paint, pencil and ink on plywood and Masonite board support, 30 x 30 inches

  • City on a Table 2
    City on a Table 2
    9 x 12 inches , Acrylic, charcoal and ink on wood panel
  • City Still-life
    City Still-life
    11 x 14 inches, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on canvas
  • Aqueduct and Barge
    Aqueduct and Barge
    12 x 12 inches, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on wood panel
  • Two Apples
    Two Apples
    9 x 12 inches, Acrylic, ink, gouache, pencil on paper
  • I was thinking of Italy
    I was thinking of Italy
    9 x 12 inches, Acrylic, ink and charcoal on canvas
  • City on a Table
    City on a Table
    40 x 60 inches, Acrylic, and oil on canvas
  • For the Children
    For the Children
    50 x 50 inches, Oil and charcoal on canvas
  • Académie Bridge 1
    Académie Bridge 1
    10 x 10 inches, Pastel, ink, pencil on paper. Permanent collection Venice Biennale Architecture Section
  • Académie Bridge 2
    Académie Bridge 2
    10 x 10 inches, Pastel, ink, pencil on paper. Permanent collection Venice Biennale Architecture Section

Expression, abstraction and non-objective work

A series of works exploring abstraction as the organizational underpinning of painting. The imagery grows out of experiences through observation with the figure,  forms from nature and architectural sources.
  • Winter
    Winter
    50 x 48 inch, Acrylic, charcoal, and oil on canvas
  • Building Blocks
    Building Blocks
    40 x 60 inches, Acrylic on canvas
  • House of Fall
    House of Fall
    30 x 60 inches, Oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas
  • Spanish Garden for Bethe
    Spanish Garden for Bethe
    22 x 86 inches, Acrylic and oil diptych on stretched canvases
  • Journey
    Journey
    12 x 18 inch diptych, Oil and acrylic on canvas
  • Tower
    Tower
    10 x 17, Acrylic and oil on canvas
  • Winter Rain
    Winter Rain
    12 x 12 inch, Acrylic and ink on paper
  • Canyon
    Canyon
    11 x 11 inches, Acrylic , ink and watercolor on linen paper
  • Homage to Albers
    Homage to Albers
    8 x 8 inch, Watercolor and pencil on paper
  • Wondering
    Wondering
    12.5 x 12.75 inches, Watercolor on hand made paper

Continuous Line

An exploration of the power of line in painting and designwere. These works  inspired partly by my work with young children with lessons in drawing using  the method of continuous line.
  • Summer Line
    Summer Line
    50 x 79 inches, Oil and acrylic on canvas
  • Broken Wing
    Broken Wing
    36 x 48 inches, Acrylic and oil on canvas
  • Through a Looking Glass
    Through a Looking Glass
    18 x 18 inches, Oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas
  • Mountains from Mountains
    Mountains from Mountains
    30 x 50inches, Acrylic and oil on canvas
  • Rolling Hills
    Rolling Hills
    16 x 79 inches, Acrylic and oil on canvas
  • Artifact and Shadows
    Artifact and Shadows
    23 x 42 inches, Acrylic and oil on canvas
  • Orange Line on Blue Mist
    Orange Line on Blue Mist
    4 x 8 inches, Acrylic on wood panel
  • Female Space
    Female Space
    12 x 18 inches, Acrylic and ink on paper
  • Blue Dance
    Blue Dance
    4 x 4 inches, Acrylic, ink, pencil and oil on wood panel
  • Smoke Rings
    Smoke Rings
    12 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. 

  • Adam and Eve 50 x 79 inches, collage - mixed medi on plywood,.jpg
    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.

  • Female figure on a stool_1.jpg
    Female figure on a stool_1.jpg

    8 x 10 inches, Acrylic and charcoal on wood panel

  • Female Looking Left
    Female Looking Left
    4 x 6 inches, Acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil on linen paper
  • Sleeping Venus
    Sleeping Venus
    36" x 48", Oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas, A narrative tale about the state of dreaming as an experience of the city.
  • Female seated nude with outstretched arm
    Female seated nude with outstretched arm
    4 x 6 inches, Gouache, ink and acrylic on paper
  • Female Back
    Female Back
    9 x 12 inches, Acrylic, charcoal, pencil and ink on cardboard
  • Reclining female
    Reclining female
    11 x 14 inches, Acrylic, gouache, ink and charcoal on paper
  • Yellow Male
    Yellow Male
    3 x 5 inches, Acrylic, pencil and charcoal on wood panel
  • Model turning in an old  chair
    Model turning in an old chair
    10 x 10 inch, Acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil on wood panel
  • Model Looking Back
    Model Looking Back
    14 x 16 inches, Acrylic and charcoal on canvas

Thinking Three-dimensionally

Informed largely from my work as an architect, this series of small scale constructions explore a variety of architectural, spatial and volumetric themes. These works are executed in mixed media with an emphasis on wood, paper, plaster and also as ceramic works using low fired clay methods.  Several works represented  here were commissioned pieces, including the two that were translated into bronze.
  • Theater of Time
    Theater of Time
    6 x 12 x 3 inches, Bronze from wood and wax maquette, for George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, New Jersey
  • Adam and Eve
    Adam and Eve
    12 x 18 x 4 inches, Low fired clay and acrylic paint finish, front and back views
  • Temple of the Winds
    Temple of the Winds
    6 x 12 x 3 inches, Bronze from wood and wax maquette, for George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, New Jersey
  • Jerusalem House
    Jerusalem House
    18 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
  • City of Children
    City of Children
    16 x 24 x 10 inches, mixed media; plywood, wood, paper, phototransfer, ink, acrylic paint and foot-locker assemblage
  • Theater of Love
    Theater of Love
    8 x 8 x 24 inches, Mixed Media: wood, cardboard, canvas, found objects, paper, and acrylic paint.
  • The Tempest
    The Tempest
    6 x 9 x 2 inches, Mixed media: cigar box, plaster, wood , cardboard, paper and acrylic paint. Commissioned for the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival.
  • Cathedral
    Cathedral
    6 x 10 x 2 inches, Mixed Media: wood, cigar box, cardboard, acrylic paint
  • Rumination on a Bowl
    Rumination on a Bowl
    14 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..

  • Sketchbook Entry
    Sketchbook Entry
    Various media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
  • Sketchbook Entry
    Sketchbook Entry
    Various media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
  • Sketchbook Entry
    Sketchbook Entry
    Various media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
  • Sketchbook Entry
    Sketchbook Entry
  • Sketchbook Entry
    Sketchbook Entry
    Various media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
  • Sketchbook Entry
    Sketchbook Entry
    Various media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
  • Sketchbook Entry
    Sketchbook Entry
    Various media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
  • Sketchbook Entry
    Sketchbook Entry
    Various media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
  • Sketchbook Entry
    Sketchbook Entry
    Various media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes
  • Sketchbook Entry
    Sketchbook Entry
    Various media: acrylic, watercolor, pencil, ink on paper in bound sketchbooks of various sizes