Joel Elias Shapiro (September 27, 1941 – June 14, 2025) was an American

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

renowned for his dynamic work composed of simple rectangular shapes. The artist is classified as a Minimalist as demonstrated in his works, which were mostly defined through the materials used, without allusions to subjects outside of the works.

Life and career

Early life and education

Joel Shapiro was born on September 27, 1941, in New York City and grew up in

Sunnyside, Queens Sunnyside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. It shares borders with Hunters Point, Queens, Hunters Point and Long Island City to the west, Astoria, Queens, Astoria to the no ...

, New York. He graduated from Bayside High School in Bayside, New York in 1959, at which time the school’s yearbook awarded him the title of ''Man'' ''About Town''. At age 22, he lived in India for two years while in the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

.Klein, Michele Gerbe
Joel Shapiro
'' BOMB Magazine'' Fall 2009, Retrieved July 25, 2011 He received a B.A. in 1964 and an M.A. in 1969 from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Personal life

Shapiro lived and worked in New York City. He was married to the artist Ellen Phelan. Shapiro died of

acute myeloid leukemia Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood and interfere with haematopoiesis, normal blood cell production. Sympt ...

at a hospital in Manhattan, New York City on June 14, 2025, at the age of 83.

Work and inspiration

While serving his Peace Corps time in India, Shapiro saw many Indian art works; he said: "India gave me the sense of … the possibility of being an artist." He experienced art in India as "pervasive and integral to the society", and he added: "the struggle in my work to find a structure that reflects real psychological states may well use Indian sculpture as a model". His early work, which also drew inspiration from Greek art, is characterized by some by its small size, but Shapiro has discounted this perception, describing his early works as "all about scale and the small size was an aspect of their scale". He described scale as "a very active thing that's changing and altering as time unfolds, consciously or unconsciously," and, "a relationship of size and an experience. You can have something small that has big scale." He said that in these works he was trying "to describe an emotional state, my own longing or desire". He also said that during this early period he was interested in the strategies of artists Robert Morris, Richard Serra, Carl Andre, and

Donald Judd Donald Clarence Judd (June 3, 1928February 12, 1994) was an American artist associated with minimalism.Tate Modern websit"Tate Modern Past Exhibitions Donald Judd" Retrieved on February 19, 2009. In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for ...

. By the 1980s, Shapiro began to explore larger and life-size forms in pieces that were still reminiscent of Indian and Greek sculpture but also inspired by early modernist works by

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...

and Constantin Brâncusi. The bulk of these pieces have been commissioned or acquired by museums and galleries. Later, Shapiro further expanded his repertoire by creating pieces that depicted the dynamism of human form. For instance, his subjects were portrayed in the act of dancing, crouching, and falling, among others that explored the themes of balance,

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

, projection, and compression. His later works can have the appearance of flying, being impossibly suspended in space, and/or defying gravity. He said about this shift in his work that " ewanted to make work that stood on its own, and wasn't limited by architecture and by the ground and the wall and right angles." These can be demonstrated in the case of the large-size outdoor art he made for the Hood Museum of Art. The

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

piece was an attenuated form that leans over a walkway and its near-falling form is viewed as an energizing element in the museum's courtyard. This sculpture, like all of Shapiro's mature works, are untitled. Shapiro was Jewish, and Jewish traditions have influenced his art works, including his frequent use of the color

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

. Shapiro's work has on occasion been compared to that of

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker, who was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. His work was particularly influenced ...

, one of his favorite sculptors.

Works in collections

United States

California

* ''Untitled'', 1978, San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla * ''Untitled'', 1974, Gersh, Philip & Beatrice, Los Angeles * ''Untitled'', 1988, Gersh, Philip & Beatrice, Los Angeles * ''Untitled'', 1981, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles * ''Untitled'', 1979, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles * ''Untitled'', 1982, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles * ''Untitled'', 1975, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles * ''Untitled'', 1988, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco * ''Untitled'', 1982-1985, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

District of Columbia

* '' Untitled'', 1989, National Gallery of Art, Washington * ''Untitled'', 1974, National Gallery of Art, Washington * ''Untitled'', 1975, National Gallery of Art, Washington * ''Untitled'', 1975, National Gallery of Art, Washington * ''Untitled'', 1983, National Gallery of Art, Washington * ''Untitled'', 1986, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington * '' Loss and Regeneration'', 1993, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington * ''Blue'', 2019, Video Wall Lawn of the REACH at the Kennedy Center, Washington

Florida

* ''Untitled'', 1996, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton * ''Untitled'', 1988, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton * ''Up/Over'', 2007, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach

Illinois

* ''Untitled'', 1984, Elliott, Gerald S., Chicago * ''Untitled (Arching Figure)'', 1985, Elliott, Gerald S., Chicago * ''Untitled (for G.S.E.)'', 1987, Elliott, Gerald S., Chicago * ''Untitled'', 1981, Governors State University, University Park

Indiana

* ''Untitled'', 1984, David Owsley Museum of Art, Indiana

Iowa

* ''Untitled'', 2003, Principal Riverwalk, Des Moines * ''Untitled'', 1985, Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines

Maine

* ''Untitled'', 1984, Colby College, Museum of Art, Waterville

Maryland

* ''Untitled'', 1985, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore * ''Untitled'', 1970, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore

Massachusetts

* ''Untitled'', 1990, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge * ''Untitled'', 1997,

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

Michigan

* ''Untitled'', 1975, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit * ''Untitled'', 1985, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit

Minnesota

* ''Untitled'', 1975, Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), Minneapolis

Missouri

* ''Untitled'', 1984, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis * ''Untitled'', 1991, Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City

Nebraska

* ''Untitled'', 1984, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Garden,

New York

* ''Seven Elements'', 2001–2003, Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany * ''Untitled'', 1988, Museum of Modern Art, NYC * ''Untitled'', 1988, Museum of Modern Art, NYC * ''Untitled (house on shelf)'', 1974, Museum of Modern Art, NYC * ''Untitled'', 1994, Sony Plaza, NYC - Donated by Sony Corporation of America to Storm King Art Center on April 19, 2016 * ''Untitled (House on Field)'', 1976, Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC * ''Untitled'', 1978, Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC * ''Untitled'', 1981, Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC * ''Untitled'', 2000, Rockefeller University, New York * ''Untitled'', 2004–2005, Albany Academy for Girls, Albany, NY

North Carolina

* ''Untitled'', 1990, North Carolina Museum of Art * ''Untitled'', 1995, Davidson College, Van Every/ Smith Galleries

Ohio

* ''Untitled'', University of Cincinnati Galleries, Ohio * ''Untitled'', 1977, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio * ''Untitled'', 1989, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

Pennsylvania

* ''Untitled maquette'', 1984, CIGNA Museum and Art Collection, Philadelphia * ''Untitled'', 1984, CIGNA Museum and Art Collection, Philadelphia

Texas

* ''Untitled'', 1975, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas * ''Untitled'', 1975, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas * ''Untitled'', 1984, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas * ''Untitled'', 1985–87, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas * ''Untitled'', 1986, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas * ''Untitled'', 1986, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas * ''Untitled'', 1996–99, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas * ''Untitled'', 1977, Fort Worth Art Museum, Fort Worth * ''Untitled'', 1977, Fort Worth Art Museum, Fort Worth * '' Untitled'', 1990,

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 5,000 years of history with nearly 80,000 works from six continents. Follo ...

* ''Untitled'', 2000, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio * "Elements", 2004-2005, Northpark Center, Dallas, Texas * ''Untitled'', 2011, Rice University Art Gallery, Houston * ''Untitled'', 2019, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas

Washington

* ''Untitled'', 1980–81, Western Washington University Public Sculpture Collection, Bellingham, Washington * ''Untitled'', 1980–81, Restricted Owner, Seattle, Washington * ''Untitled'', 1990, Seattle University campus

Wisconsin

* ''Untitled'', 1987, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

International collections

Australia

* ''Untitled (chair)'', 1974, Australian National Gallery, Canberra

Canada

* ''Conjunction'', 1999, Embassy of the United States of America, Ottawa

Denmark

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, also known as the Louisiana, is an art museum located north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Attracting over 700,000 guests annually, the Louisiana is Scandinavia's most visited museum for Modern art, modern and contempor ...

, Humlebaek Note: Joel Shapiro's sculpture name is unknown in the Denmark section, so the name of the sculpture isn't there.

Germany

* ''Untitled'', 1999, Köln Skulpture Park, Cologne

Israel

* ''Untitled'', 1991, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv * ''Untitled'', 1996, Billy Rose Art Garden,

Israel Museum The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...

, Jerusalem

Italy

* ''Untitled'', 1993, Peggy Guggenheim collection, Venice

Netherlands

* ''Untitled'', 1999, Westersingel sculpture trail, Rotterdam

Sweden

* ''Untitled'', 1979, Moderna Museet, Stockholm * ''Untitled'', 1982, Moderna Museet, Stockholm

United Kingdom

* ''Untitled'', 1978, Tate Gallery, London * ''Untitled'', 1984, Tate Gallery, London

Awards

Sapiro became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in 1994, of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

in 1998, and of the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

in 2012. His awards include: * 1975 Visual Arts Fellowship of the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

* 1984

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

Creative Arts Award * 1986 Skowhegan Medal for sculpture * 1990 Order of merit for sculpture of the

, New York

References

External links

* *
The Pace Gallery

Interview
with the

Brooklyn Rail ''The Brooklyn Rail'' is an American publication and platform for the arts, culture, humanities, and politics, based in Brooklyn, New York. It features in-depth critical essays, fiction, poetry, as well as interviews with artists, critics, and ...

from November 2007
Public Art Fund: Joel Shapiro

* Joel Shapiro in conversation with Marla Prather
Interview with Joel Shapiro
May 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Joel 1941 births 2025 deaths American printmakers Jewish American artists Sculptors from New York City Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni Sculptors from New York (state) Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Deaths from leukemia in New York (state)