Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
American, 1966-2023
Bringing lively newness to weathered and worn found materials, artist and furniture designer Jim Rose mined scrap heaps and junkyards for the metal he used in his furniture, collages and decorative objects. He kept his eyes open for the ideal scraps of aged steel that could be bent and shaped into a base, frame or surface of his next piece, hand-picking off-colored bits to serve as inlays and accents.
Rose was long associated with the American Studio Craft movement, and many of his one-of-a-kind works can typically be characterized as a venturesome fusion of folk art and modernist design. Each piece, crafted by hand and with fastidious care in his Wisconsin studio, is representative of his work ethic and boundless imagination.
Born in Indiana, Rose studied briefly at Bard College in New York City and earned his BFA in sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1988. A couple of years earlier, he established his design studio, along with his wife Suzanne — an award-winning photographer — as his partner. During the 1990s, Rose and Suzanne traveled the American Northeast, where he became enamored with Shaker furniture.
When Rose returned home, he read every piece of literature he could about the history of the Shakers. The name derives from the popular moniker for an all-but-vanished American religious sect, whose members crafted honest, modest household furniture and objects as part of their belief in purposeful living and simplicity in all things. Rose incorporated Shaker methods into the production of his own designs. Rather than utilize the unpretentious hardwoods that the Shakers preferred, however, Rose worked with discarded materials, fashioning tables, case pieces and decorative objects from repurposed steel and other metals.
In the late 1990s, Rose began to include multi-colored metal into his works — adapting methods used by colonial quiltmakers. His furnishings began to take on a mosaic look, bringing a substantial amount of visual appeal and new charm to each of his distinctive creations. Rose also produced a body of work that drew on Ming dynasty designs.
With numerous showings at Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair in New York City and Chicago, Rose made a name for himself throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. He had solo and group exhibitions throughout his career, including in Palm Beach, Florida, and Mesa, Arizona — as well as at many other galleries in New York and Chicago. Rose’s work is held in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Mesa Contemporary Arts, Racine Art Museum and other institutions.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Jim Rose storage cabinets, tables, and decorative objects.
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Creator: Jim Rose
Jim Rose - Construct No. 02, Salvaged Steel and Aluminum Industrial Objects
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here he has welded together various washers and cyl...
Category
2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
Found and Salvaged Steel House Structure, Modern and Minimalist Sculpture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of found steel is reworked, pr...
Category
2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
House Sculpture, Minimalist Modern Structure, Rusted Steel Wedge on Wood Blocks
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, found steel objects are welded together to ...
Category
2010s American Minimalist Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
Minimalist Modern Structure, Rusted Steel on Wood Block Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, found steel objects are welded together to ...
Category
2010s American Minimalist Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
Found and Salvaged Steel House Structure on a Reclaimed Steel Plate, Wooden Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of found steel is reworked and...
Category
2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
Found and Salvaged Steel House Structure on a Reclaimed Steel Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of spare parts come together ...
Category
2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
Found and Salvaged Steel House Structure on a Reclaimed Steel Plate, Wooden Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of found steel is reworked whi...
Category
2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
Jim Rose - Construct No. 05, Salvaged Steel and Aluminum Industrial Objects
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here he has welded together various metal pieces to...
Category
2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
Found and Salvaged Steel Structure on a Wooden Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of spare parts come together ...
Category
2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
Jim Rose - Wire Dog, Repurposed Heavy Wire Dog Sculpture, Cylindrical Metal Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here he has taken heavy gauge wire and formed it into a simple dog and placed it upon a salvaged steel cylinder. These repurposed items combine to form this small simple sculpture that will sure to bring a smile to its owner.
Jim Rose
Objects No. 04
Found and Collected Objects
6.50h x 6w x 10.50d in
16.51h x 15.24w x 26.67d cm
JR0291
Jim Rose
b. 1966, d. 2023
Bio
Born in Indiana, Jim Rose lived in Europe until he returned to the United States to attend college. After one year at Bard College, Jim transferred to the School of the Art Institute in Chicago (SAIC) where he graduated in 1988 with a BFA. His skillful interpretation of the Shaker design is a result of intense research and field study of Shaker furniture, architecture, culture and history. After over two decades of dedicated work, he has mastered the minimalism of the Shaker technique and created his own unique visual vernacular. The quilts of Gee's Bend have become a monumental influence taking this artist's work to new levels of unique interpretation and artistry. His selection of aged steel results in a patina directly related to that of aged wood while his colored strips beautifully mimic worn cloth. Each piece of furniture is masterfully made and intended for daily use. Jim Rose’s steel furniture is featured every year at SOFA Chicago for the past 25 years.
Jim Rose
b. 1966, Wisconsin
Education
1989 B.F.A., Sculpture, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL
1988 Student at Large, Welding Technology, Triton College, Chicago, IL
1985 Undergraduate Photography Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Awards
2008 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award, Madison, WI.
2005 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
2003 Grant Recipient for Shaker Interpretations in Cast Iron, PA Arts Assoc / WI Arts Board
2003 Arts/Industry Residency Program for Visual Artists, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Jim Rose CODA, Gallery Victor, Chicago, IL
2020 Unseen, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL
2017 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2012 Simply Steel, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI
2007 Variation, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
2003 New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
2001 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
2000 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
1999 Hands and Heart to Steel III, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL
National Exhibitions
2023 Intersect Palm Springs, Gallery Victor, Palm Springs, CA
2018 SOFA Chicago 2018, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL
Art Market Hamptons, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Bridgehampton, NY
Art on Paper, Gallery Victor, Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, NY
2017 - 2019 SOFA Chicago – Gallery Victor Armendariz
2016 - 1995 SOFA Chicago, New York, Palm Beach - Ann Nathan Gallery
2011 - 2002 Art Chicago - Ann Nathan Gallery
Group Exhibitions
2017 Coming Attractions: Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL
2017 Living with Art: The Newman Collection, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma
2016 Form Follows Function: The Intersection of Art and Craft, The Hardy Gallery, Ephraim, Wi
2015 NEO, Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
2015 ICFF, Furniture Society, Javits Convention Center, New York City, NY
2013 Vahki Revisited, The Enduring Spirit of a Craft Collection” Mesa Contemporary Arts,
Mesa, AZ
2013 Fearless Furniture, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Indianapolis, IN
2013 Inaugural Exhibition, Museum Wisconsin of Art, West Bend, WI
2012 Sitting Pretty: Furniture from RAM’s Collection, Racine Art Museum, WI
2011 Hiding Places: Memory in the Arts, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, WI
2010 Living with Art, Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua Institution, NY
2009 Summer in Wisconsin, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2009 High Honors, James Watrous Gallery, Madison, WI
2008 Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum of Art and Design, NY
2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Art Association, Jackson, WY
2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX (traveling exhibition)
2006 Show us Your Drawers, Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IN
2006 Marriage of the Minds...
Category
2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
Jim Rose - Construct No. 03, Salvaged Steel and Aluminum Industrial Objects
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here he has welded together various washers, nuts, ...
Category
2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
Found and Salvaged Steel Structure on a Steel & Wooden Circular Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of spare parts come together ...
Category
2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
Found and Salvaged Steel Industrial Objects on Wooden Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here, a beautifully rusted tobacco box, a steel egg...
Category
2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Metal, Steel
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Jim Rose abstract sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.
Jim Rose abstract sculptures are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of steel and are designed with extraordinary care. Many of the original abstract sculptures by Jim Rose were created in the folk art style in united states during the 21st century and contemporary. Prices for Jim Rose abstract sculptures can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $350 and can go as high as $1,500, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $1,500.