Alyson Shotz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alyson Shotz
Born	1964 Glendale, Arizona, United States
Education	University of Washington, Rhode Island School of Design
Known for	Sculpture, installation art, photography, video
Awards	Stanford University Research Fellow, Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts

Alyson Shotz (born in 1964) is an American artist. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She is famous for creating large, abstract sculptures and art installations. These artworks are often inspired by nature and ideas from science.

Shotz's art plays with light, shadows, space, and even gravity. Her goal is to make people think differently about what they see. Art critics say her work is different from traditional, heavy sculptures. Instead, she uses everyday materials to make art that can be flexible, see-through, shiny, or seem very light. Her pieces often react to changes around them, like light or movement.

One art critic, Lilly Wei, said that Alyson Shotz keeps changing what sculpture can be. Each of her projects tries out new ideas and possibilities.

Alyson Shotz creates different kinds of art. Some are big, detailed sculptures and installations made by hand. Others are simpler, self-contained sculptures. She also makes abstract photos and digital prints. Her art can be seen in many famous museums. These include the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum. She has also shown her work at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Early Life and Education

Alyson Shotz was born in Glendale, Arizona, in 1964. Her father was an Air Force pilot, and her mother was a teacher. Because of her father's job, she lived in many different places across the western and central United States as a child.

She first studied geology, which is the study of Earth's rocks and soil. But she later decided to study art. Science, however, has always been a big influence on her artwork. She earned her art degree from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1987. Then, she got her master's degree from the University of Washington in 1991. In the early 1990s, she moved to New York City.

Shotz started her career as a painter. She made colorful images of natural shapes. Sometimes, she also used photography, collage, and video in her art. One important early work was Reflective Mimicry (1996). This piece included photos and a video. It showed a woman walking in the woods. The woman wore a suit covered in small mirrors. The mirrors reflected the trees, making the woman seem to disappear into the forest. Shotz continued to explore how figures can blend into their surroundings. She did this in large outdoor artworks like Mirror Fence (2003).

Amazing Art for Public Spaces

Alyson Shotz has created many large artworks for public places. These are called "commissions." She has made art for places like Stanford University and NYU Langone Health in New York. She also created art for the High Museum of Art and the Cleveland Clinic.

In 2022, she installed a permanent sculpture called Entanglement. This twisting sculpture is made of painted steel. It hangs above the main hall at the Skidmore College Center for Integrated Sciences. She also made a beautiful glass mosaic for a courthouse ceiling in Nashville. This artwork, The Robes of Justitia, won an award in 2022.

In 2023, a sculpture by Shotz called Temporal Shift was bought by the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. This outdoor artwork is made of stainless steel. It changes how it looks depending on the natural light. It also reminds people of how the Earth moves around the Sun.

Where You Can See Her Art

Alyson Shotz's art is part of many public collections. This means her work is owned by museums and art centers. You can see her sculptures and installations in places like the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Her art is also at the Whitney Museum and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Other places that own her work include the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Her art is also at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art.

Shotz has also received many important awards and fellowships. These awards help artists continue their work. She has received honors from the New York Foundation for the Arts and Stanford University. She also won an award from the U.S. General Services Administration in 2022 for her courthouse artwork.