Artist David Schuster creates large-scale works in his new Oak Bluffs workshop.
If you’ve recently walked by the building across from the bowling alley on Uncas Avenue — the space that previously housed A Gallery — you may have noticed what looks like a new gallery. In fact, it’s the studio of artist David Schuster, who has rented the space in order to work on his large-scale sculptural paintings. The studio is not open to the public per se, but the artist welcomes visits by appointment. h20 timber beam factory and suppliers
Schuster took over the former gallery in January. He was looking for a space where he could pursue all of the phases involved in creating his unique works. “This space offered me the opportunity to have all of my functional areas in one place,” he explains. “Multiple functions is how I produce my work — painting, construction, collage. I can spread out over multiple work surfaces. I often work on four, five, or six pieces at the same time.”
Schuster constructs his own wooden panels to work on in a shop area, complete with all of the necessary woodworking tools. Sometimes one surface is applied on top of another, or two surfaces are paired for a diptych. Some feature hand-constructed elements or bases that make them virtually freestanding. Schuster, a former project manager, does all of the construction work himself.
Another room serves as a working studio, where the artist pieces together and paints his mixed-media pieces. He uses a wide array of objects for his work, including found objects, flea market finds, construction materials, trash items like balloons and wire mesh, and all sorts of unexpected elements, like bird skeletons, balloons, and kitty litter. Schuster often starts with one item from which a theme evolves, then uses a variety of applied objects and painting to construct a finished work.
The third room is used for displaying completed pieces. Right now about a half-dozen works hang in the central space. The very-large-scale pieces are fascinating sculptural constructions, often featuring items that project from the surface. Although the images are abstract, Schuster always works around a theme — generally a social or environmental message.
For example, the piece titled “A Thicket Is No Place to Hide,” robin red-breast comments on global warming. On his website, Schuster writes, “Robins of my region often leave our lawns during winter for the shelter and more favorable foraging of nearby forests, re-emerging to our yards with spring’s thaw. Observing robins one spring morning, I wondered what confusion they might experience with the climactic disruptions of the seasons.”
The diptych “White Picket Fence/Perfect Is the Enemy of Good” features a white painted cedar door constructed by the artist, contrasted with a chaotic scene made up of upturned cornstalks, briars, wire mesh, granite chunks, and other elements symbolic of nature disrupted. Schuster writes, “The seemingly evaporating distinction between human wants and needs promotes exceptional consumption and waste. The innocence and idealism of white-picket-fence-dreams seems lost to the vain pursuit of shine.”
Many of the artist’s pieces reflect on environmentalist themes, as well as social justice issues. In his artist statement he writes, “I seek to promote an active rather than a passive participation in a visual dialogue, providing both visual gratification and existential challenges. I hope that the work raises mindfulness and, ultimately, changes in human behavior that may benefit our humanity and the natural world.”
In 2017 Schuster decided to devote himself entirely to creating fine art. In the past 2½ years, he has completed about 20 large-scale pieces, with another half-dozen or so in the works. “When I decided to make a commitment to do my own work, I knew I needed to have a body of work to define myself artistically,” he says.
Having earned a degree in art history from Harvard, and completed studies at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Schuster went on to forge successful careers in a number of fields, including design and illustration, design coordinator for a major American corporation, associate professor and vice president of the Art Institute of Boston, and owner of a design and consulting project management business. Despite his success in these endeavors, Schuster never felt truly fulfilled until he started creating work of his own.
He rented a studio in Salisbury, Conn., for two years before relocating his operation to the Vineyard. He has lived part-time in Chilmark since 2006. Having settled here, Schuster has found the Island to be a perfect environment for his work. He’s happy to be around nature and be part of a society that has an interest in social and environmental causes. The artist spends a great deal of time in his new studio, and, when not working, enjoys numerous outdoor activities.
“This is all I want to do,” says Schuster of his current occupation. “I’ve never felt as so completely challenged every day as I do now.”
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