Joe Sheehan (artist)

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Joe Sheehan (born 1976 in Nelson, New Zealand) is a stone artist and jeweller who works primarily in pounamu (New Zealand greenstone or jade). [1]

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Joe Sheehan
SheehanJ.jpg
Joe Sheehan in his studio, 2015
Born1976
NationalityNew Zealand
Education1996 Diploma in Design (Jewellery) Unitec Institute of Technology
Known forJewellery and sculpture
Awards2011 Antarctic Fellow: Artists in Antarctica Programme

Early life and education

Sheehan has been carving since his early teens. His father is an American jade carver who emigrated to Nelson in the 1970s. [2] : 87  Sheehan worked in his father's business, which supplied jade carvings to the tourism market in Rotorua. [3]

Sheehan studied contemporary jewellery at the Unitec Institute of Technology, where his tutors included Pauline Bern, graduating with a Diploma in Design (Jewellery) in 1996. [4] [5]

Career

Walk the Line Walk the Line - Joe Sheehan - Wellington Cenotaph Memorial precinct 04.png
Walk the Line

Sheehan works with pounamu, which is a material of great significance in Māori culture. Some of Sheehan's works explore "the value placed on pounamu as a commodity, rather than a material of cultural importance". [6] In others he uses pounamu in unexpected ways, for example carving ballpoint pens, a tape cassette, or a lightbulb. [3] Sheehan has also made works that question New Zealand's 'clean, green' image. [2] : 87  He says 'A lot of contemporary carving is retrospective looking. I wanted my stuff to relate to the current social environment but also reference the particular way our carving industry has developed'. [2] : 87 

Limelight, his second exhibition, was a solo show at Objectspace in 2005, following a solo show at Avid Gallery in Wellington the previous year. [7] In 2006 Sheehan was one of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand's inaugural New Generation Awards recipients. [5] In 2008 he was selected to participate in the 28th São Paulo Art Biennial; in 2011 he travelled to Antarctica as an Antarctic Arts Fellow under the Artists in Antarctica Programme. [8] [9] In 2012 he had his first survey exhibition, 'Joe Sheehan: Other Stories', at Pataka Art + Museum in Porirua, New Zealand. [10] [11]

Sheehan was commissioned by the Wellington Sculpture Trust to produce Walk the Line, a site-specific sculpture, for the refurbishment of the Wellington cenotaph. Sheehan carved over 300 nephrite discs that travel across the space, marking the original bed of the Wai Piro stream. [12] [13] [14]

Collections

Sheehan's work is held in a number of public collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Christchurch Art Gallery, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the Chartwell Collection at the Auckland Art Gallery. [15] [16] [17]

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Lloyd Jenkins, Douglas; Hammond, Lucy (10 October 2014). "Crafts and applied arts - Individual crafts, 2000s". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Were, Virginia (Autumn 2007). "Leaving the lagoon". Art News New Zealand: 86–90.
  3. 1 2 Campbell, Fiona (2009). Real Art Roadshow (PDF). Waikanae: Real Art Charitable Trust. ISBN   9780473152949 . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Tyler, Linda (Summer 2014). "From small beginnings come beautiful things". Arts news. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Joe Sheehan: Stone artist and jeweller". The Arts Foundation of New Zealand. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Joe Sheehan, 'Reserve', 2011". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Clifford, Andrew (7 September 2005). "Pounamu prospects are seen in a different light". New Zealand Herald. APN New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Coney, Hamish (23 October 2008). "Slow Journey". Idealog.co.nz. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Alumni". Antarctica New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  10. ↑ Amery, Mark (25 September 2012). "Joe Sheehan at Pataka Museum". Eyecontactsite.com. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "Joe Sheehan: Other Stories". Pataka.org.nz. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Sculpture News" (PDF). Wellington Sculpture Trust. December 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  13. ↑ "New sculpture at the Cenotaph unveiled". Wellington City Council. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  14. ↑ Elliott, Sue (29 January 2023). "Joe Sheehan walks the line with elegant simplicity". Stuff. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "Sheehan, Joe". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Jo Sheehan". Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  17. ↑ "Joe Sheehan: Mother". Christchurch Art Gallery. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
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