Derek Weisberg
Derek Weisberg is a figurative artist whose sculptures are viscerally human.
Weisberg uses art as a way to process the impossible daily challenge of being human: being alive while holding the daily awareness of the inevitability of death, and the intuitive need to form meaningful social connections along the way. His lone portraits capture distinct emotions in the faces and gestures of the figures assembled from ceramics, stoneware, wood plaster, and other found materials. He maintains a deep connection to a hands-on studio practice, letting sculptures come to life in an intuitive way over a period of time. For Weisberg, the hand of the artist allows for a certain humanity to shine through in his work, and also specifically combats the larger-scale production system that many artists work in today. In addition to his sculpture practice, Weisberg also makes drawings and paintings in a similar aesthetic: mixed media collage with added drawn elements that feature faces distorted through the layering of mismatched and contorted features.
Brooklyn, NY
Born 1983, Santa Rosa, CA
2005 BFA California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland CA