Joe Sheehan (artist) explained

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]

Birth Date:1976
Nationality:New Zealand
Education:1996 Diploma in Design (Jewellery) Unitec Institute of Technology
Known For:Jewellery and sculpture
Awards:2011 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] 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

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] 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]

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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lloyd Jenkins. Douglas. Hammond. Lucy. Crafts and applied arts - Individual crafts, 2000s. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 4 December 2014. 10 October 2014.
  2. Were. Virginia. Leaving the lagoon. Art News New Zealand. Autumn 2007. 86–90.
  3. Book: Campbell. Fiona. Real Art Roadshow. 2009. Real Art Charitable Trust. Waikanae. 9780473152949. 4 December 2014.
  4. Web site: Tyler. Linda. From small beginnings come beautiful things. Arts news. 6 December 2014. Summer 2014.
  5. Web site: Joe Sheehan: Stone artist and jeweller. The Arts Foundation of New Zealand. 4 December 2014.
  6. Web site: Joe Sheehan, 'Reserve', 2011. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. 4 December 2014.
  7. News: Clifford. Andrew. Pounamu prospects are seen in a different light. 22 December 2014. New Zealand Herald. APN New Zealand Ltd. 7 September 2005.
  8. Web site: Coney. Hamish. Slow Journey. Idealog.co.nz. 4 December 2014. 23 October 2008.
  9. Web site: Alumni. Antarctica New Zealand. 4 December 2014.
  10. Web site: Amery. Mark. Joe Sheehan at Pataka Museum. Eyecontactsite.com. 4 December 2014. 25 September 2012.
  11. Web site: Joe Sheehan: Other Stories. Pataka.org.nz. 4 December 2014.
  12. Web site: Sculpture News. Wellington Sculpture Trust. 6 January 2015. December 2014.
  13. Web site: New sculpture at the Cenotaph unveiled. Wellington City Council. 23 June 2015. 15 April 2015.
  14. Web site: Elliott . Sue . 2023-01-29 . Joe Sheehan walks the line with elegant simplicity . 2023-01-30 . Stuff . en.
  15. Web site: Sheehan, Joe. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. 4 December 2014.
  16. Web site: Jo Sheehan. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. 4 December 2014.
  17. Web site: Joe Sheehan: Mother. Christchurch Art Gallery. 30 April 2016.