Derek Uhlman is an award-winning sculptor whose work comments on the relationship between modern man and nature. He is best known for his large-scale outdoor sculpture, having had several major corporate and private commissions and significant exhibitions.

The artist began his career as a young apprentice to master sculptors Reuben Nakian (Last of the post expressionist sculptors (quote Henry Geldzahler) "one of the most distinguished American sculptors of the 20th century" New York Times, 12/5/86) and Ivan Biro (cofounder of 55 Mercer Gallery in SOHO, NYC). Uhlman received his first solo commission for a 37,000lb marble sculpture, Stone Flowers, from General Foods Corporation in 1982. In 1989, he was invited by The World Food Foundation to create the prestigious World Food Prize with Saul Bass. This international award is showcased annually at the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC).

Uhlman’s sculptures are included in the collections of GE Rockefeller Center (New York, NY), General Electric Corporation Headquarters (Fairfield, CT), Kraft General Foods Headquarters (Rye, NY), Daiwa Corporation Headquarters (Tokyo, Japan), as well as in private collections worldwide. He is a professional member of the International Sculpture Center (Hamilton, NJ), The Silvermine Art Center (New Canaan, CT) and the Copley Society of Art (Boston, MA)..

Exhibition venues include the National Academy of Design (New York, NY), Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC), Hammond Museum (North Salem, NY), Kouros Sculpture Center (New York, NY), John Slade Ely House Center for Contemporary Art (New Haven, CT), Stamford Museum (Stamford, CT), Bruce Museum Sculpture Garden (Greenwich, CT), Cortland Jessup Gallery (Provincetown, MA), Wohlfarth Gallery (Washington, DC & Provincetown, MA), Silvermine Art Center Galleries (New Canaan, CT), and PMW Gallery (Stamford, CT).

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Derek Uhlman: Brief Resume

 

Daiwa Corporation World Headquarters – Tokyo, Japan (2)

General Foods World Headquarters – Rye, NY (2)

General Electric Corporation World Headquarters – Fairfield, CT (5)

General Electric Corporation Rockefeller Center – New York, NY (3)

Hammond Museum, South Salem, NY (1)

Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT (3)

Saginaw Museum of Art, Saginaw, MI

Robert Nelson Collection, Wayzata, MN

Karl Maruyama Collection, Wilton, CT

Amanda Worrell Collection, Wilton, CT

John and Anne Baldwin Collection, Greenwich, CT

Howard and Patty Silverstein Collection, Bedford Hills, NY

Michael Elms Collection, Boston, MA

Paul Kasuren Collection, Ann Arbor, MI

Elisa Keogh Collection, Norwalk, CT

Andrea Calve Collection, Dallas, TX

Vincent Baldisanno Collection, Oxford, CT

Chris and Judy Lavin Collection, Westport, CT

Jeffery Burns Collection, Stamford, CT

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

Galleries & Selected Exhibition Sites

 

National Academy of Design, New York, NY

Kouros Gallery, New York, NY

Gallery 631, New York, NY

Cortland Jessup Gallery, Provincetown

Silvermine Art Center Galleries, New Canaan, CT

PMW Gallery, Stamford, CT

Wohlfarth Gallery, Washington, DC & Provincetown, MA

Hammond Museum, North Salem, NY

John Slade Ely House Center for Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT

Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT

Stamford Museum, Stamford, CT

Greene Gallery, Guilford, CT

Molly Jacobson Award, Art of the Northeast Exhibition, Silvermine Art Center Galleries, New Canaan, CT

Awards

 

(Given by Henry Geldzahler, Director of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY)

Apprentice to master sculptors:

Education

 

Reuben Nakian

(Last of the post expressionist sculptors (quote Henry Geldzahler)"one of the most distinguished American sculptors of the 20th century," New York Times, 12/5/86)

Ivan Biro

(co-founder of 55 Mercer Gallery in SOHO, New York, NY)

Purchase College, SUNY, Purchase, NY

The Silvermine Guild School of Art, New Canaan, CT

 

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Derek Uhlman: Artist Statement

 

My sculptures comment on the passage of time and the complex relationship between man, society and the natural world. I strive to create a balance between opposing forces, such as creation/destruction, responsibility/decadence, ancient/progressive, good/evil, universal/personal.

While I frequently incorporate materials, practices and symbols used by ancient civilizations, my work has an abstract simplicity that suggests both timelessness and progressiveness. I strive for my sculptures to appear as though they could have been created at any point during the human trajectory. My goal is for them to remind us of our shared past history, show us our present situation, and invite us to envision the legacy we will leave for future generations. To heighten the sense of the transience and frailty that exists within us and our ecosystems, I sometimes work with impermanent materials, such as paper or I allow a sculpture to be ravaged by acid rain, or the harsh freeze/thaw cycle of a Northern winter to express these ideas.

When I create an artwork series, I explore one fundamental concept through different media, whether in stone, metals, paper or mixed media. While the form and concept remains consistent, it is the experimentation with diverse materials that informs my process and the resulting artwork.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commissions, Collections & Works on Loan