Meet Joseph Cavalieri, the latest Featured Artist on Artsy Shark. Enjoy his portfolio and his sense of humor! Find out more about this talented artist by visiting his website.
Joseph’s aim in life is to “take stained glass out of the church and into the gallery.” He may be best know for his Simpson’s series, a set of multi-layered painted stained glass panels depicting characters from the TV series being killed off. Two of these works were actually bought by Simpson’s writers in LA, and one hangs in the office where the series is written.
Raising the bar to a more detailed yet less mainstream artist such as the 70s animation cult hero R. Crumb was a natural step in the progression of Joseph’s art. In 2010, after generously getting permission from Mr. Crumb, Joseph started a grouping of panels he has named the Cavalieri Crumb Series. Instead of pen and ink on paper, this work is hand painted enamel that is kiln-fired onto glass, a technique Joseph teaches, as well as a technical tradition that dates back to Medieval stained glass.
Cavalieri’s recent body of work is based on engravings from the 1800s. He’s chosen portraits and has updated them to bring them graphically into our century. Joseph comes from a design background, working as an Art Director for different magazines in New York including People, GQ and Good Housekeeping. He likes bringing the elements of color and layout he learned from this past career into his current stained glass work.
Joseph uses other techniques that are not normally found in stained glass work, including airbrushing, silk screening and collage. He sometimes layers the glass, overlapping 5 sheets of glass to make one image. In 2009, he started teaching classes internationally to share these painting on glass techniques.
You may remember his Artsy Shark article “Is an Art Residency Right for You?” Cavalieri’s residencies in India, Scotland, and (upcoming) Brazil, have included permanent art installations.
Cavalieri also brings his sense of humor into sculptural forms with his Polycephaly birds. Joseph predicts in 2080 it will be common to see two- and three-headed birds.
Additional information, images, videos and teaching schedule can be found on his website.
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