While attending art school at SUNY Purchase, Steve Rosenzweig concentrated on painting, printmaking and installation art. His thesis project was a culmination of these disciplines- a dreamlike, shadowy environment featuring a field of rooftops surrounded by a panorama of large-scale surreal paintings. Suspended above all this was an oversized floating figure- the dreaming artist. This would become imagery which would resurface time and again in his future artwork.
After receiving his BFA, he moved to NYC and soon began a dream job- working as a studio assistant to Red Grooms- an artist Steve had admired, and been influenced by, from an early age. There he was involved in the fabrication, installation and creative problem-solving of a highly prolific and internationally recognized artist. Grooms’ work was entirely unique- quirky, full of joy, humor and invention- characteristics which became essential to Rosenzweig’s own artistic voice.
Soon after, Rosenzweig embarked on a decades-long stretch working as a Production Designer in the film, television and theater businesses. He was involved in projects spanning Independent movies, Dr. Seuss-inspired children’s TV programming, to a stage production which premiered at the 1992 Salzburg Opera Festival. This diverse and creatively challenging career supported and fortified his own personal studio work. While there was a mutually beneficial relationship between these collaborations and his private work, the decision came to fully immerse himself in his studio life.
This sea change coincided with his move from NYC to upstate New York. The tranquility and natural surroundings focused and informed his work. Rosenzweig initially reacted to his environment by painting landscapes in oil. The Hudson River School served as motivation. What began as somewhat representational, his attention started moving toward the abstract- more Expressionistic, Romantic, and allegorical. Influencing these landscapes were the likes of Caspar David Friedrich, J.M.W.Turner, El Greco and Charles Burchfield.
As his work progressed, more internal, personal infatuations and curiosities started to enter the equation. Then, the rectilinear canvas began to break free from it’s confines. The work became 3-dimensional, constructed, and off the wall. With hints of scenic design, and a nod to Red Grooms, his new “constructions” heralded a more immediate and personal path for self-expression. Concurrently, by increasing his physical engagement, Rosenzweig began to employ previously disassociated skills and materials.
In this new work, there is no sketch, no blueprint, no specific plan. Each piece begins by fabricating a substrate- the first trigger. Moving between the studio and the workshop, the initial structure prompts an array of actions. The work evolves entirely as it is being constructed. Each successive addition an immediate reaction to the last. The arsenal: metal, wood, canvas, plastic, paint- cut, bolted, burned, stretched, melted, poured. Vibrant colors, bold textures and dissonant arrangements are all coaxed toward a self-defined resolution. Spontaneity and improvisation are essential. Simultaneously, so is the slow and deliberate need for precision.The process, though, remains open to invention and discovery. This approach provokes “trouble”…with the hopes of somehow finding a way out.
By adding a third dimension, the artistic domain expands. More physical, more tactile, and without planar confines, the finished piece engages the viewer in ways simply not possible with works on canvas or paper.
Rosenzweig’s paintings, drawings and constructions are in private collections both regionally and in Europe. His work is in the collection of the Beinecke Library at Yale University. In recent years, he has been commissioned to create paintings for set decoration for ABC and Warner Brothers Television.
He and his wife Susan, an archaeologist, live in Columbia County, New York.
After receiving his BFA, he moved to NYC and soon began a dream job- working as a studio assistant to Red Grooms- an artist Steve had admired, and been influenced by, from an early age. There he was involved in the fabrication, installation and creative problem-solving of a highly prolific and internationally recognized artist. Grooms’ work was entirely unique- quirky, full of joy, humor and invention- characteristics which became essential to Rosenzweig’s own artistic voice.
Soon after, Rosenzweig embarked on a decades-long stretch working as a Production Designer in the film, television and theater businesses. He was involved in projects spanning Independent movies, Dr. Seuss-inspired children’s TV programming, to a stage production which premiered at the 1992 Salzburg Opera Festival. This diverse and creatively challenging career supported and fortified his own personal studio work. While there was a mutually beneficial relationship between these collaborations and his private work, the decision came to fully immerse himself in his studio life.
This sea change coincided with his move from NYC to upstate New York. The tranquility and natural surroundings focused and informed his work. Rosenzweig initially reacted to his environment by painting landscapes in oil. The Hudson River School served as motivation. What began as somewhat representational, his attention started moving toward the abstract- more Expressionistic, Romantic, and allegorical. Influencing these landscapes were the likes of Caspar David Friedrich, J.M.W.Turner, El Greco and Charles Burchfield.
As his work progressed, more internal, personal infatuations and curiosities started to enter the equation. Then, the rectilinear canvas began to break free from it’s confines. The work became 3-dimensional, constructed, and off the wall. With hints of scenic design, and a nod to Red Grooms, his new “constructions” heralded a more immediate and personal path for self-expression. Concurrently, by increasing his physical engagement, Rosenzweig began to employ previously disassociated skills and materials.
In this new work, there is no sketch, no blueprint, no specific plan. Each piece begins by fabricating a substrate- the first trigger. Moving between the studio and the workshop, the initial structure prompts an array of actions. The work evolves entirely as it is being constructed. Each successive addition an immediate reaction to the last. The arsenal: metal, wood, canvas, plastic, paint- cut, bolted, burned, stretched, melted, poured. Vibrant colors, bold textures and dissonant arrangements are all coaxed toward a self-defined resolution. Spontaneity and improvisation are essential. Simultaneously, so is the slow and deliberate need for precision.The process, though, remains open to invention and discovery. This approach provokes “trouble”…with the hopes of somehow finding a way out.
By adding a third dimension, the artistic domain expands. More physical, more tactile, and without planar confines, the finished piece engages the viewer in ways simply not possible with works on canvas or paper.
Rosenzweig’s paintings, drawings and constructions are in private collections both regionally and in Europe. His work is in the collection of the Beinecke Library at Yale University. In recent years, he has been commissioned to create paintings for set decoration for ABC and Warner Brothers Television.
He and his wife Susan, an archaeologist, live in Columbia County, New York.
RESUME
Columbia County, NY
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, Printmaking — 1986, State University of New York at Purchase, NY
Production Designer & Scenic Artist for Film, Television, and Theater — 1990-2008
EXHIBITION
2019. Albert Shahinian Fine Art, Rhinebeck, NY
2018 The Laffer Gallery, Upstate Artists 7th Annual Juried Group Show, Schuylerville, NY
Annual Members Show, Saratoga Arts, Saratoga Springs, NY
Represented Artists Exhibition, Concepto Gallery (Solo Exhibition), Hudson, NY
2017 Holiday Group Show, Concepto Gallery, Hudson, NY
Selection ’17, Concepto Gallery, Hudson, NY
Bard College, Visual Arts Gallery, Bard College, Big Foot, Annandale, on Hudson, NY
2016 One Mile Gallery, Kingston, NY
St. Francis Gallery, Lee, MA
2015 St.Francis Gallery, Lee, MA
ArtSpace, Richmond, VA
Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake Falls, NY
Art in the Park, Group Show, Hillsdale, NY
2014 Kunst Gallery, On The Off Chance(Solo Exhibition), Hudson, NY
Columbia County School of Art, Harlemville, NY
2013 Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake Falls, NY
Kunst Gallery, Group Show, Hudson, NY
Heaven Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
2012 Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake, Falls, NY
Harmon Gallery, Wellfleet, MA
Columbia County Council on the Arts, On & Off the Wall, Hudson, NY
2011 CCCA Gallery, Animal, Hudson, NY
Kingston Museum of Contemporary Art, Kingston, NY
Sky Farm (Solo Exhibition), Copake, NY
CCCA Gallery Juried Exhibition, Hudson, NY
Artspace, Richmond, VA
Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake Falls, NY
2010 CCCA Gallery, Hudson, NY
Artspace Gallery, Richmond, VA
Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake Falls, NY
CCCA Gallery Juried Exhibition, Hudson, NY
Riders Mills Group Show, Riders Mills, NY
2009 River Vale Public Library, River Vale, NJ
Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake Falls, NY
Hudson Opera House, Hudson, NY
Artspace Gallery, Richmond, VA
Riders Mills Art Show, Riders Mills, NY
2008 Park Row Gallery, New Skies (Solo Exhibition), Chatham, NY
Hudson Opera House Art Gallery, Hudson, NY
2007 River Vale Public Library (Solo Exhibition), River Vale, NJ
Railroad Street Gallery, Great Barrington, NY
2006 Roeliff Jansen Historical Society, Copake Falls, NY
2005 B&G Gallery, New Work, (Solo Exhibition), Hillsdale, NY
2004 Sheffield Art Gallery, Framed (Solo Exhibition), Sheffield, MA
2003 Time and Space Limited Gallery, Hudson, NY
PUBLICATION
2013 Cawman, Steven, Abstract Revolution, Mainstreet Magazine October 2013
2006 Bride, Edward, Steve Rosenzweig (Cover story), The Artful Mind, February 2006
COLLECTION
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Columbia County, NY
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, Printmaking — 1986, State University of New York at Purchase, NY
Production Designer & Scenic Artist for Film, Television, and Theater — 1990-2008
EXHIBITION
2019. Albert Shahinian Fine Art, Rhinebeck, NY
2018 The Laffer Gallery, Upstate Artists 7th Annual Juried Group Show, Schuylerville, NY
Annual Members Show, Saratoga Arts, Saratoga Springs, NY
Represented Artists Exhibition, Concepto Gallery (Solo Exhibition), Hudson, NY
2017 Holiday Group Show, Concepto Gallery, Hudson, NY
Selection ’17, Concepto Gallery, Hudson, NY
Bard College, Visual Arts Gallery, Bard College, Big Foot, Annandale, on Hudson, NY
2016 One Mile Gallery, Kingston, NY
St. Francis Gallery, Lee, MA
2015 St.Francis Gallery, Lee, MA
ArtSpace, Richmond, VA
Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake Falls, NY
Art in the Park, Group Show, Hillsdale, NY
2014 Kunst Gallery, On The Off Chance(Solo Exhibition), Hudson, NY
Columbia County School of Art, Harlemville, NY
2013 Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake Falls, NY
Kunst Gallery, Group Show, Hudson, NY
Heaven Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
2012 Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake, Falls, NY
Harmon Gallery, Wellfleet, MA
Columbia County Council on the Arts, On & Off the Wall, Hudson, NY
2011 CCCA Gallery, Animal, Hudson, NY
Kingston Museum of Contemporary Art, Kingston, NY
Sky Farm (Solo Exhibition), Copake, NY
CCCA Gallery Juried Exhibition, Hudson, NY
Artspace, Richmond, VA
Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake Falls, NY
2010 CCCA Gallery, Hudson, NY
Artspace Gallery, Richmond, VA
Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake Falls, NY
CCCA Gallery Juried Exhibition, Hudson, NY
Riders Mills Group Show, Riders Mills, NY
2009 River Vale Public Library, River Vale, NJ
Copake Falls Annual Juried Exhibition, Copake Falls, NY
Hudson Opera House, Hudson, NY
Artspace Gallery, Richmond, VA
Riders Mills Art Show, Riders Mills, NY
2008 Park Row Gallery, New Skies (Solo Exhibition), Chatham, NY
Hudson Opera House Art Gallery, Hudson, NY
2007 River Vale Public Library (Solo Exhibition), River Vale, NJ
Railroad Street Gallery, Great Barrington, NY
2006 Roeliff Jansen Historical Society, Copake Falls, NY
2005 B&G Gallery, New Work, (Solo Exhibition), Hillsdale, NY
2004 Sheffield Art Gallery, Framed (Solo Exhibition), Sheffield, MA
2003 Time and Space Limited Gallery, Hudson, NY
PUBLICATION
2013 Cawman, Steven, Abstract Revolution, Mainstreet Magazine October 2013
2006 Bride, Edward, Steve Rosenzweig (Cover story), The Artful Mind, February 2006
COLLECTION
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT
2019 © Steve Rosenzweig All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
