Background
For the first time, Pintz is presenting his sculptural works in Europe. Pintz’s recent work draws inspiration from the fundamental concept of building blocks. By definition, building blocks are separate units that combine to make something that is greater than the sum of their parts. In doing so, Pintz taps into a universal principle that is both simple and profound while applying to everything from child’s play to complex systems.
Building blocks
Pintz’s approach in art making is a playful process: requiring patient observation and an iterative approach throughout the creative practice. By working with these building blocks, the artist created a flexible framework that allows for endless exploration and discovery, both for him as the artist as well as for the viewer.
Children often turn to block play because it offers an open-ended learning experience in which they are free to combine and re-combine things in countless ways. In doing so, they develop a variety of skills including spatial awareness, motor skills, language, social and emotional growth, and creativity.
Pintz’s work explores the role that domestic objects play in fulfilling our physical and emotional needs. They are based on everyday, commonplace forms that reference utilitarian objects associated with the hand. His upbringing has strongly influenced his artwork and character. Both of his parents are German immigrants; they were forced to leave the land their families had settled for hundreds of years during World War II. Pintz parents came to the states with their families in the 1950s to start a new life.
Bio
Joseph Pintz earned his BA in anthropology and urban studies at Northwestern University and his MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has been a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation, the Northern Clay Center, and the Roswell Artist-in-Residence program. He has received the NCECA Emerging Artist Award as well as the Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. He is currently a professor at the University of Missouri.
