MICHAEL WEINSTEIN
ARTIST STATEMENT: SCULPTURAL EXPLORATIONS
My creative journey began in the mid-1970s, fashioning fiberglass in a basement storage room of an apartment building in Upper Manhattan, and later in a small studio space. During my time in Israel, a local businessman gave me access to his factory, where several of his workers taught me how to weld steel. This work was shown in my first sculpture exhibition at a gallery in Tel Aviv in the 1980s.
Returning to America, I explored, through small models, how to integrate wood and steel. In the 1990s, I traveled across the country to our new home in Eugene, Oregon, continuing to find new ways to meld metals with various types of wood. From there, I moved to Vashon Island, Washington, where I designed and helped construct our home, including a separate building with a crane installed so I could lift and position entire metal sheets. There, I began creating larger outdoor sculptures, which were shown in my first Seattle exhibition.
Introductions from an architect opened a door to Texas. In preparation, I began working on smaller wall-mounted and freestanding pieces in painted steel, while also exploring new directions and forms for my larger outdoor sculptures. These works were shown in three simultaneous exhibitions in Houston, followed by a solo show in Dallas, and later exhibitions in Philadelphia, Seattle, and Portland. During this same period, receiving multiple commissions gave me the opportunity to explore how to integrate my work into public spaces, courtyards, and gardens.
New directions emerged from combining specially treated woods with hand-painted steel, leading to exhibitions at galleries in Oakland, San Francisco, and Seattle. An unplanned visit with a craftsperson working in leather led me to create work that incorporates leather with steel, along with the use of exotic woods from Japan, South America, and Africa. These explorations continue to evolve across multiple directions and materials.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Architecture, University of Florida
Master of Architecture in Urban Design, Harvard University
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
FOGUE STUDIOS & GALLERY
Seattle, WA
VICTOR FISHER GALLERY
Oakland, CA
IMA GALLERY
Seattle, WA
RENE DAROM GALLERY
Tel Aviv, Israel
GREG KUCERA GALLERY
Seattle, WA
ROBERT ALTMAN GALLERY
Seattle, WA
VICTOR FISHER GALLERY
San Francisco, CA
SANDI WEBSTER GALLERY
Philadephia, PA