Josh Sperling

“I never wanted to be a graphic designer and I never wanted to make cabinets as a woodworker, but...I have become good at these two things and these skills have influenced my process more than anything else,” -- JOSH SPERLING

Josh Sperling, a former assistant of KAWS, draws on the language of minimalist painting from the 1960s and 1970s, primarily working with shaped canvases that blur the boundaries between painting and sculpture.

Known for his vibrant, shaped canvas works that challenge traditional distinctions between painting and sculpture, Sperling crafts intricate plywood supports over which canvas is stretched and painted in a signature palette of saturated, sometimes clashing colors.

In their three-dimensionality, Sperling’s works blur the boundaries between image and object. Mining a wide range of references—from minimalist painting and industrial design to pop art and architecture—he has developed a unique visual vocabulary marked by expressive dynamism and irrepressible energy. His playful, meticulously constructed forms invite a sensory experience that is both cerebral and joyful.

Sperling graduated from SUNY Potsdam in 2006 with a Bachelors in Fine Arts and worked as a graphic designer. His current works are structures that range from angular and geometric to organic, using the interaction of light and shadow to create an enhanced illusion of depth. He paints with bright, monochromatic hues to play with bright contrast and unexpected color combinations. Sperling has held solo exhibitions at Perrotin Gallery in cities around the world, including New York, Paris, Brussels, Tokyo, and Shanghai. His pieces are also included in public collections like the Fondation louis Vuitton in Paris, France, and the Arsenal Contemporary in Montreal, Canada. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Josh Sperling American, b. 1984

STELLA/SPERLING

Selected Works

STELLA / SPERLING

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