Cool Usable Art. Sculpted People Lights. Headlights byStephen Shaheen

Cool Usable Art. Sculpted People Lights. Headlights byStephen Shaheen

Stephen Shaheen is a Brooklyn-based artist whose work explores the porous borders between art, design and architecture. His work spans both manual and digital processes, and employs materials as diverse as re-purposed found objects, marble, and recycled denim fiber.
Shaheen trained in Italy as a sculptor and earned his MFA from the New York Academy of Art in 2005. His projects include large, community-driven pieces such as a 100-ton marble and granite installation, Memoria (2002), and his Metrobench (2011), created from 5,000 NYC Metrocards. Shaheen is the recipient of a Ludwig Vogelstein grant, the Italian Cultural Institute/La Fortuna Foundation grant, and a 2009-2010 Residency at the Digital Stone Project. His indoor and outdoor installations are in public and private collections in the United States and Europe.

The ‘Headlight series’, by Brooklyn-based artist Stephen Shaheen, are hand-sculpted from a modeling pulp he creates using recycled paper, cotton and denim, along with electrical components. The ideas originate in sketches, from which Shaheen creates armatures based on human proportions, positioning the gestures before carefully modeling the bodies. It is a long and multi-step process that results in a very hard, lightweight object. Rather than sculptural illuminations, Shaheen see these as illuminated sculptures, and each piece is unique.

EXHIBITS

2012 — Art Hamptons, Bridgehampton, NY

2011 — I’ve Got a Secret – Forbes Gallery, New York, NY

2011 — Eve – The New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

2011 — Corpi Fluidi – University of Siena, Siena, Italy

2011 — Single Fare 2 – Sloan Fine Art Gallery, New York, NY

2010 — Looks Good On Paper – DFN Gallery, New York, NY

2009 — NYAA 2nd Biennial Exhibition, Figureworks Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

2009 — Realism and Neorealism, Evan Lurie Galleries, Indianapolis, IN

2009 — Stephen Shaheen: Recent Work, AFP Galleries, New York, NY

2008 — Arte Senza Confini, Public Monumental Exhibit, Milan, Italy

AWARDS

2009-2010 — Digital Stone Project Artist in Residence

2007 — Ludwig Volgestein Foundation Grant

2006 — La Fortuna/Italian Cultural Institute Grant

2005 — NYAA Graduation Award for Excellence in Sculpture

2003-2005 — New York Academy of Art Merit Scholarship

LECTURES

2011 — Artist Talk, The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts

2011 — Artist Talk, Nipissing University

2011 — Artist Talk, The New York Academy of Art

2006 — Gesture and Memory, Siena School for Liberal Arts, Siena, Italy

2003 — Forging Memory in Public Art – Panelist, Rutgers University

2003-2008 — Stone Sculpture: Change and Continuity, Rutgers University Department of Art History

2002 — Art As Memory, Memory As Art – Dartmouth University, Department of Art History