Donald Lipski (born May 21, 1947) is an American sculptor best known for his installation work and large-scale public works.

Early life and education Donald Lipski was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947. He was raised in the northern suburb of Highland Park, the son and grandson of bicycle dealers. Although his first welded sculptures as a teen won him The Scholastic Art Award in high school, he was a history major and anti-war activist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, earning a B.A. in American History in 1970. In Madison, Lipski discovered ceramics while working with well-known ceramics artist Don Reitz. He then pursued an MFA in ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1973, where he studied with Richard DeVore and Michael Hall. Lipski taught at the University of Oklahoma from 1973 to 1977, when he moved to New York.

Art career Lipski attained growing recognition with his early installation Gathering Dust, which comprised thousands of tiny sculptures pinned to the wall, first at New York gallery Artists Space in 1978, and soon after in Museum of Modern Art as part of the Project series. In 1978 he won the first of three National Endowment for the Arts grants, followed by a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1988, an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1993, and the Rome Prize of The American Academy in Rome in 2000. He is permanently conserved in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., The Art Institute of Chicago, and dozens of other museums.

Lipski's installation works continued in the 1990s with The Bells, at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, The Starry Night, at Capp Street Project, San Francisco, Pieces of String Too Short to Save, in the Grand Lobby of The Brooklyn Museum, NY), and The Cauldron at the Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, New York.

In recent years, Lipski has focused his efforts on creating large-scale works for public spaces. Some of his most recognizable works include The Yearling, outside the Denver Public Library (originally exhibited by The Public Art Fund at Doris Freedman Plaza, Central Park, New York, 1997), Sirshasana, hanging in the Grand Central Market, Grand Central Terminal in New York City, and F.I.S.H. at the San Antonio River Walk, in Texas. There are twenty others across the U.S.

In 2012, Lipski was living and working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is represented by Galerie Lelong in New York.

Public collections

Asian American Art Center, New York Brooklyn Museum, New York, New York Chicago Art Institute Cincinnati Art Museum Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado Denver Public Library, Denver, Colorado Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, Michigan Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana Jewish Museum, New York, New York Kansas City Public Library's Plaza Branch, Kansas City, Missouri Landmarks (University of Texas at Austin), Austin, Texas Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, Missouri Miami Art Museum Menil Collection, Houston, Texas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York Minneapolis Museum of Fine Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas Museum of Modern Art, Miami New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh Raymond Nasher Sculpture Collection, Dallas, Texas Panza Collection, Italy Phoenix Museum of Art, Phoenix, Arizona Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, California Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York Witherspoon Museum of Art, Greensboro, NC Yale University Art Gallery

Bibliography Donald Lipski, retrospective catalogue, The Bawag Foundation, Vienna, 1999-2000 (text David Levy Strauss). Arnason, H.H. History of Modern Art. 3rd ed. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc, 1986. Bellamy, Peter. The Artist Project. New York: IN Publishing, 1991. Heartney, Eleanor, et al. The Refco Collection. Chicago: Refco Group Ltd, 1990. Pradel, Jean Louis, ed. World Art Trends 1983/84. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc, 1984. King, Elain. "Donald Lipski" in Artists Observed. Edited by Harvey Sten. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc, 1986, pp. 38–39. Fleischman, Stephen, and Terrie Sultan. Donald Lipski: A Brief History of Twine. Madison, WI: Madison Art Center, 2000. Richer, Francesca and Matthew Rosenzweig eds. No. 1: First Works by 362 Artists. New York: Distributed Art Publishers, 2005. Bloodworth, Sandra and William Ayres. Along the Way. New York: The Monacelli Press, 2006.

Further reading Freedman Gallery, Albright College. Donald Lipski: Poetic Sculpture. Reading, PA, 1990. Text by David S. Rubin. Hillwood Art Gallery, Long Island University. Broken Wings: Donald Lipski at Grumman. Brookville, NY, 1987. Text by Judy Collischan Van Wagner. Kaufman, Leslie. "Appreciating the Physical World: A Conversation with Donald Lipski." Sculpture, 26, (November 2007): 28–35. Kuspit, Donald. Donald Lipski: Building Steam. New York: Germans Van Eck Gallery, 1985. Princenthal, Nancy. "Reweaving Old Glory." Art in America, 79, (May 1991): 136–41, 182. Saunders, Wade. "Talking Objects: Interviews with Ten Younger Sculptors." Art in America, 73, (November 1985): 110–37. Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art. Donald Lipski: Oral History. Winston-Salem, NC, 1994. Yau, John. Donald Lipski: Who's Afraid of Red, White, and Blue? Philadelphia: Fabric Workshop, 1991. Riley, Jan. Donald Lipski: The Bells. Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1991.

Public commissions

+YearItemLocation2021He Kauhulu ʻAnae (A Gathering of Mullets)Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation; City and County of Honolulu, HI2018The CanoesLesner Bridge, Virginia Beach, VA2010PsycheAuraria Campus, Denver, CO2010JacksonRegional Bus Terminal, Reno, NV2009The ZizGoodyear Ball Park, Goodyear, AZ2009F.I.S.H.The River Walk, San Antonio, TX2008CowcatcherRegional Bus Terminal, Sparks, NV2008The TentIndianapolis, IN2007The DoorsCity of Scottsdale, AZ2007Leaves of GrassLevine Children's Hospital, Charlotte, NC2006The Lorelei ClubMinneapolis Central Library2005Nails' TalesUniversity of Wisconsin2005Intimate Apparel & Pearl EarringsFort Worth Convention Center2005Sylvia, ArthurCity of Chicago, IL2004Got Any Jacks?Miami International Airport, FL2003Five Easy PiecesWashington DC Convention Center2001ToolsWellington Webb Municipal Building, Denver, CO2000Rodin RodannadannaAvenue of the Arts, Kansas City2000SirshasanaGrand Central Market, Grand Central Terminal, NY1997The YearlingDoris Friedman Plaza, Central Park, The Yearling now resides at the Denver Public Library1997The LaGuardia SuiteConcert Hall, La Guardia High School for Music1987The WestThe University of Texas at Austin

References