The Artist
Steve is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and Pratt Institute sculpting where he received Master degrees from both. He also taught at Pratt Institute before moving to Atlanta. He is retired from the American InterContinental University after 33 years where he was Dean of the School of Design. He also received his doctorate from Capella University while working full time.
Steve has a prolific body of work around Atlanta. He designed and produced the art for the Buckhead Marta Station, the second largest station in the city of Atlanta. It displays the most art of any station, covering two football fields and requiring five years to complete. He has work in Atlanta's Woodruff Park, Northside Hospital, several law firm collections and numerous private collections. He has shown his work from New York City to California and overseas as far as Bombay, India. Steve's earlier works have been made in wood, on canvas and in cement. He currently works in steel.
Retired from academia, Steve is in his studio every day. Surrounded by his collection of old posters and antiques, his studio is his haven. He flourishes here and his prolific amount of work is a testament to his drive.
His work is always evolving as he searches for new ways to express his artistic exploration, wherever it may lead. Steve has also studied and practices fine art photography. Some of Steve's work centers on self-expression, while other pieces reflect reactions and feelings. Stop by his studio — known as “The ArtZone” — to get a better feel for his work.
Highlights
Collections of Steve’s works have graced the Fine Arts Academy in New Delhi, India, The Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta and numerous other corporate and public venues in metro Atlanta.
He has served as a judge at the Buckhead Spring Arts and Crafts Festival, been awarded commissions to create sculptures for MARTA in Atlanta and to create “Monument to Slain Police Officers” in Atlanta.
His work has been written about in numerous national and regional publications including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Style magazine and has appeared in dozens of one-person and group exhibitions. See Complete List.
Artist’s Statement
The natural world has inspired people since the beginning of time, primarily through its beauty and power. However, in the past one hundred years, man’s pursuit of manufacturing for mass consumerism has threatened the planet, with waste from disposable goods now a top environmental and political priority.
As a disposable society, it is easier to throw things out than to fix them. Recycling is a positive way to offset the damage. My work focuses on the art of reuse, renewal and recycling to reinforce this message. Constructing art from discarded metal materials speaks out on the negative impact humans have left on the environment, while educating and creating awareness on the need to recycle debris and reduce pollution.
Using individual shapes made from industrial machine and automotive parts, as well as all manner of junkyard scraps, the work investigates the importance of recycling in today’s society. By reclaiming rusted and discarded metal scraps and sculpting them into a statement of beauty, each piece is a metaphor on the need for a renewal by society to embrace a more efficient way. All of the metals used are reclaimed, each with a history despite being discarded and ending up in a landfill.
Straddling a tension between finished and unfinished, each sculpture conveys an energy that pulses through the bent and crusted metal scraps. The art is energetic, emerging out of twisted chaos into three dimensional drawings in space. Each conveys a feeling of its past life, with the metal joining together into visual excitement. This energy is felt by each object's position relative to another, often in large unified circles to illuminate the transition from junk to beauty while examining society’s demise into a disposable culture based on wastefulness and urban sprawl.
As a sculptor, I’m fascinated by the challenge of creating an entirely unique piece of art from a random collection of discarded and often commonplace objects. My work speaks to our current culture, which is as immensely rich in trash as it is treasure. As society overwhelms its landfills with items that could be reused we squanders the opportunity to make new items, placing a sizeable strain on resources and mankind’s quality of life.
