JOE SPEAR

Joe Spear at his studio in Santa Fe.

The majority of Spear's work is in “origami bronze.”  Origami is the manipulation of flat planes into three-dimensional shapes.  While origami originated in paper, it translates well into metal.

He starts the majority of his sculptures as paper origami models, then enlarge them into folded-wax versions that can be cast in bronze.  These larger versions can be made by cutting creases into sheet metal and folding the planes by hand.

Artists throughout history have reflected and commented on society, drawing attention to different states of being through artistic expression.  Spear is happy to join this artistic lineage, using the beautiful geometry of origami to honor what is uplifting and resourceful in the human condition.

Bryan Cranston and Dennis Hopper with artists Todd Scalise and Joe Spear at the AFF Awards Ceremony on August 8, 2009.

Hosted by Emmy winner Bryan Cranston (from the television series Breaking Bad), the Albuquerque Film Festival (AFF) Awards Ceremony featured Dennis Hopper, an Albuquerque resident, who received a lifetime achievement award for his work on films such as “Easy Rider”. Todd Scalise and Joe Spear are artists in Santa Fe that collaborated to create the Dennis Hopper Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented at this year’s AFF on August 8th. The design of the award is highly unique and portrays Dennis Hopper’s contribution to Independent Film. Spray paint cans and camera lenses were cast in bronze and then fused together in a Tetradecagon (14-sided shape) as an artistic expression for 'independence'. Dennis Hopper has collected cutting-edge emerging art for a number of decades and this award will be a perfect fit for his already elaborate collection of American art.

© by Todd Scalise and Joe Spear 2009
Bronze, 8.25" x 8.25" x 8.25," approx. 9lbs.

Please contact us for other available works
info@jsauergallery.com