Artist Profile

The majority of Joe Spear's work is in "origami bronze." Origami is the manipulation of flat planes into three-dimensional shapes. While origami originated in paper, it translates well into metal.

He starts the majority of his sculptures as paper origami models, then enlarges them into folded-wax versions that can be cast in bronze. These larger versions can be made by cutting creases into sheet metal and folding the planes by hand.

Artists throughout history have reflected and commented on society, drawing attention to different states of being through artistic expression. Spear is happy to join this artistic lineage, using the beautiful geometry of origami to honor what is uplifting and resourceful in the human condition.

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Joe Spear was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After college, Joe lived in the Bay Area of Northern California where he worked in metal shops and at Artworks Bronze Foundry. In 2005, Joe moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico to continue his love for art and, specifically, bronze sculptures. He worked at nationally-renowned Shidoni Foundry from 2005 to 2007. In 2010, Joe returned to work at the foundry in Northern California.

Inspired by origami since he was a child, Joe enjoys combining the geometry of folded planes and the traditionalist approach to throe dimensional bronze and other metal sculpture. His work includes sire abstract pieces as well as sculpture that is more representational.

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Education:

1996 BFA Temple University's Tyler School of Art

Selected Collections

State of New Mexico Art in Public Places Program, City of Carlsbad, NM

Texas Christian University (TCU), Fort Worth, TX

Neo Center Building, Union City, California

(commissioned monumental outdoor sculpture)

Several private collections throughout the country