Joe Sheehan (artist) on:
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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
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". In others he uses pounamu in unexpected ways, for example carving ballpoint pens, a tape cassette, or a lightbulb. Sheehan has also made works that question New Zealand's 'clean, green' image. 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'.
''Limelight'', his second exhibition, was a solo show at Objectspace in 2005, following a solo show at Avid Gallery in Wellington the previous year. In 2006 Sheehan was one of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand's inaugural New Generation Awards recipients. In 2008 he was selected to participate in the 28th
Joe Sheehan: The Quick and the Dead
ArtJewelryForum, 12 August 2015 *Felicity Milburn
Hidden in Plain Sight
''Bulletin'', Christchurch Art Gallery, 1 March 2016
jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...
).
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. Sheehan worked in his father's business, which supplied jade carvings to the tourism market inRotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...
.
Sheehan studied contemporary jewellery at the Unitec Institute of Technology, where his tutors included Pauline Bern
Pauline Bern (born 1952) is a New Zealand jeweller.
Early life
Bern was born in Auckland in 1952.
Career
Bern is a self-taught jeweller who began making jewellery while living in the United States in the 1970s. She has exhibited consistently in ...
, graduating with a Diploma in Design (Jewellery) in 1996.
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". In others he uses pounamu in unexpected ways, for example carving ballpoint pens, a tape cassette, or a lightbulb. Sheehan has also made works that question New Zealand's 'clean, green' image. 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'.
''Limelight'', his second exhibition, was a solo show at Objectspace in 2005, following a solo show at Avid Gallery in Wellington the previous year. In 2006 Sheehan was one of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand's inaugural New Generation Awards recipients. In 2008 he was selected to participate in the 28th São Paulo Art Biennial
The São Paulo Art Biennial (Portuguese: ''Bienal de São Paulo'') was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennale (in existence since 1895), which serves as ...
; in 2011 he travelled to Antarctica as an Antarctic Arts Fellow under the Artists in Antarctica
The Artists to Antarctica programme, also known as the Antarctica New Zealand Arts Fellowship and the Invited Artists Programme Antarctic Arts Fellows, was a community engagement programme run by Antarctica New Zealand, the government agency cond ...
Programme. In 2012 he had his first survey exhibition, 'Joe Sheehan: Other Stories', at Pataka Art + Museum in Porirua
Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...
, New Zealand.
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.
Collections
Sheehan's work is held in a number of public collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Christchurch Art Gallery, theMuseum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...
and the Chartwell Collection at the Auckland Art Gallery
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions.
Set be ...
.
Further reading
* Damian Skinner and Kevin Murray, ''Place and adornment : a history of contemporary jewellery in Australia and New Zealand'', Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2014. *Susan CumminsJoe Sheehan: The Quick and the Dead
ArtJewelryForum, 12 August 2015 *Felicity Milburn
Hidden in Plain Sight
''Bulletin'', Christchurch Art Gallery, 1 March 2016
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehan, Joe 1976 births New Zealand artists New Zealand jewellers Living people Unitec Institute of Technology alumni