Staples #17
collage
paper: 20 x 16 inches
$900
JOHN SCHIFF
John Schiff has been an artist and a renowned award-winning architect for decades. His knowledge and love for information and material fundamentally informs his work, in which he explores the tension between structure and spontaneity.
Schiff begins with an invented "alphabet" of an inherent mathematical structure comprised of "letters" which he develops by creating shapes according to the ratios in the Golden Section. He cuts these letters out of mylar, places them on a plate, inks and runs them through an etching press - transferring the information from plate to paper. By using mirrored images and negative shapes, he creates a deliberate refined order in the work, which is subjective, intuitive, and ultimately, free.
John Schiff was a founding partner of Mayers and Schiff Architects and a professor of architecture at Cooper Union.