Jeff Schofield is an installation artist based in the Detroit metro area. He holds an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and an M Arch from Columbia University in New York. As a professional artist, Schofield has over ten years of experience working as a curator at art galleries and art fairs, primarily exhibiting contemporary artwork by emerging artists. During this time, he developed his own art practice focused on installation art expressing visual aspects of climate change. Schofield up-cycles found objects, such as salvaged wood, beach litter, car parts and everyday debris into provocative art installations that challenge the sustainability of our globalized society. He experiments with this detritus through processes of collecting and cataloging to create large-scale artworks examining critical narratives that comment on human transgressions of both natural and constructed environments. His artworks have earned numerous awards, including an International Emerging Artists Award and an Arrowmont Award. Schofield has completed artist residencies in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, New York, North Carolina and Cape Cod, where he frequently conducted workshops or delivered presentations on sustainable themes. He has exhibited at art galleries and museums in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Rome, Brussels, Fort Worth, Detroit and greater Michigan. Schofield’s artworks are in private collections throughout Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the USA. Future projects include an artist residency at PlySpace in Muncie, Indiana and a solo art exhibition at KINK Contemporary Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio.
Artist Statement by Jeff Schofield
My art practice explores the human dimensions of sustainable living by examining contradictions and absurdities embedded in our consumer culture. I up-cycle found objects such as beach litter, salvaged wood, car parts and everyday debris into ominous art installations expressing visual aspects of climate change. My material choices involve discarded items with their own life cycles, containing stories of human use, interaction and, ultimately, disposal. I experiment with this detritus through processes of collecting and cataloguing to create large scale artworks examining critical narratives that question the sustainability of our globalized society. I explore material life cycles, overproduction, accumulation, waste and decay. Through subversion and provocation, my artworks comment on human transgressions of both natural and constructed environments.
WEBSITE: jeffschofield.net