Artist Biography
SCULPTOR: Olympus Within - Peter Schifrin created a monumental bronze for the new U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, CO, installed in 2020. His work titled, Olympus Within, is inspired by the concept that, although we may not all be Olympians, we each have within us the dream to pursue excellence. Placed at entry to the stunning Museum building, designed by McArthur Award-winning Architect, Liz Diller (of Diller Scofidio + Renfro) a 60,000-square-foot interactive museum at the base of the Rocky Mountains that is dedicated to telling the stories of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes, one of the world’s most accessible museums for people with disabilities.
In 2018, in collaboration with sculptor David Duskin, Schifrin unveiled his life-size bronze monument to legendary television producer and political activist, Norman Lear, in Boston, MA. Peter also created two 22-foot bronze monuments, Confluence and Skyward at Post and Mason St. in San Francisco’s Union Square District, commissioned by the Academy of Art University. Peter’s work is highlighted in the hardcover monograph, Love and Fear: The Sculpture of Peter Schifrin with accompanying film on DVD.
Peter Schifrin is a professional sculptor who has created large-scale public and private commissions in bronze, including 18-foot bronze, Full Sky for an award-winning home in New York; 17-foot bronze, Earth & Sky for De Loach Vineyards, Sonoma; 16-foot bronze and steel, Coyotes in downtown San Jose; 11-foot bronze and steel, Firefighter in San Ramon, CA; 9-foot bronze, Wounded Man for the city of San Mateo’s Performing Arts Center; and Play Sky a 12-foot bronze at a private residence in Sonoma.
Peter received his MFA in Sculpture from Boston University (1992) and his BA in Sculpture from San Jose State University (1982). He is represented by SculptureSite Gallery. Peter also collaborated with artist David Duskin, to create the monumental work, J-Line, a fabricated ‘ribbon of steel’ redefining a private sculpture park in upstate New York.
An Olympian himself, Peter showcased bronze works, created during the 2012 Olympiad, some work exhibited in London. His bronze Wings series, inspired by the Olympics, and inner ‘spiritual flight’ were a traveling exhibit, ‘Silver Lining Mother F*cker’, held at Varnish Fine Art Gallery in San Francisco, and Art of the Olympians Museum & Gallery in Ft. Myers, Florida.
EDUCATOR: For 12 years, Peter Schifrin was Director of the School of Fine Art Sculpture at the Academy of Art University where he instructed for over 25 years. Peter has taught at numerous colleges, including UC Santa Barbara, Boston University, Montserrat College of Art. Peter Schifrin is a member of the International Sculpture Center and was voted into the National Sculpture Society as a ‘Fellow’. Peter is inspired by his wife of 25 years, and his 3 children.
ATHLETE: Peter Schifrin was a member of the 1984 US Olympic Team, NCAA National Champion, on numerous National and International Teams. His event was Fencing with Épée
Artist Statement
When our son was born with a profound disability, after wiping my wife’s tears, I took some sculpting wax into my fingers to shape a small coin, no bigger than my thumbnail. I pressed four letters into that wax coin, spelling out the word ‘gift’ on both sides. I replicated 1,500 of these ‘gift’ coins into bronze. They were small sculptures. They were gifts. They were reminders. When flipped, these hand-stamped coins always land gift-side up -- A reminder that, despite how things appear, it is possible to discover something positive, hidden within.
Art making is rejoicing. I am interested in creating work that, despite our suffering, celebrates joy within our brief gift of life. One of my college students wrote in a statement that sculpture should be, ‘more fun, than un-fun.’ I resonate with this wisdom.
I push and coax clay and wax with my bare hands. I weld steel or cast bronze into animated forms. This interaction often leaves raw, personal marks in these three-dimensional records of life-force. Imperfect marks are mirrors to my imperfect humanness. In my ‘all that I know’ series, I condensed principles, which inform my life, into twenty-four sculptures -- twenty-four single-word affirmations. One of these affirmations is ‘gift’.
In the face of adversity, it is difficult to remember our wisdom. Life may not seem like a ‘gift’ at all: A broken arm, a flat tire -- worse -- a car accident, a roadside bomb, AIDS, the death of a child. These are not gifts. Life often feels more like a harsh slap in the face, than the soft cuddling of a teddy bear.
I am interested in the relationship of artist and viewer. I say, ‘Touch the art. Flip the coin’. I offer works as visual mnemonics, affirming life -- Reminders to seize the day. Sculptures and coins are dedicated to remembering the affirmative quality that enables us to act, in spite of our fears.
- Peter Schifrin, 2018
Peter’s bronze ‘gift’ coins. Flip them. Either way, they land ‘gift-side’ up..
Resume (pdf)
Peter with his 20 ft. clay, ‘Full Sky’, to be cast in bronze & shipped to NY, 2007
Resume
Education:
MFA Boston University, Sculpture, 1992
BA San Jose State University, Sculpture, 1982
Commissions:
Olympus Within Awards, 6 bronze sculptures, US Olympic and Paralympic Museum, Colorado Springs, CO, 2023
Emerson College Legacy Hall, interactive museum (design only), Emerson College, Boston, 2021-23
Elma Lewis Legacy Monument, life-size bronze (design only), Emerson College, Boston, 2021-23
Olympus Within, over life-size bronze, US Olympic and Paralympic Museum, Colorado Springs, CO, 2020
Norman Lear Monument, 11-ft bronze, Boston, MA, 2018, with David Duskin
Wings, bronze series, private residence, NY, 2013-14
J-Line, half-mile ribbon of steel, private residence, NY, 2009-12, with David Duskin
Earth and Sky, 17-ft bronze, DeLoach Vineyards, CA, 2009
Play Sky, 12-ft bronze, private residence, CA, 2009
Full Sky, 20-ft bronze, private residence, NY, 2008
Skyward & Confluence, two 22-ft bronzes, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA, 2004
Firefighter, 11-foot bronze & steel, Fire Protection District, San Ramon, CA, 1990-91
Wounded Man, 9-ft bronze, San Mateo Performing Arts Center, 1989-90
Coyotes, four bronze, 4-ft high,16-ft steel pedestals, Park Street Bridge, San Jose, CA, 1988-89
Exhibitions & Series (partial list)
2024 Wings, new paintings and sculptures (with Art of the Olympians) Mayor’s Palace, 7th District, Paris, France
2023 Olympus Within, print and sculpture exhibition, US Olympic and Paralympic Museum, Colorado Springs, CO
2023 Human Race & Wings, monoprints, Interni e Dintorni Architecture, Nervi, Italy
2023 Wings, bronze & monoprints, Solo exhibition, Galleria Capoverso, Genova, Italy
2020 Olympus Within, limited ed. Drawing, Ribbon cutting, US Olympic & Paralympic Museum, CO
2018 Faculty and Alumni Auction, Academy Galleries, San Francisco, CA
2017 Affirmations & Wings, Faculty Exhibition, Atelier Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2017 Mask Color Series (18 Wall Pieces) Open Studio, Santa Rosa, CA
2000-16 Faculty and Alumni Auction, Academy Galleries, San Francisco, CA
2015 Figuratively Speaking, bronze & ceramic, Sculpturesite Gallery, Sonoma, CA
2014 Peter Schifrin: Ceramic & Bronze, Palmetto Center for the Arts, Northwest Vista College, San Antonio, TX
2014 Peter Schifrin Artist Talk, Palmetto Center for the Arts, San Antonio, TX Northwest Vista College, San Antonio, TX
2014 Art is You, Artist Talk, images & spoken-word, Hilton, Petaluma, CA
2013 Silver Lining Mother F*cker, Art of the Olympians Museum, Ft. Myers, FL
2013 Silver Lining Mother F*cker, exhibit & spoken word, Varnish Fine Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2012 New Works, bronze & ceramic, Sculpturesite Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011 New Works, bronze & ceramic, Sculpturesite Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2009 New Works, bronze & steel works, Sculpturesite Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2006 Love and Fear, nine bronze & steel works, Sculpturesite Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2005 Confluence, exhibition & book signing, A New Leaf Gallery, Sonoma CA
2004 Confluence & Skyward, maquette exhibition, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
2004 Figures, Claudia Chapline Gallery, Stinson Beach, CA
2004 Group Exhibition, The New Leaf Gallery, Berkeley,
2003 Peter Schifrin, Claudia Chapline Gallery, Stinson Beach, CA
2003 New Works, New Leaf Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2003 All That I Know, Academy of Art College Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2002 Group Exhibition, Claudia Chapline Gallery, Stinson Beach, CA
2002 New Works, New Leaf Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2001 Sh’Arc Angel, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
2001 Group Show, The New Leaf Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2001 Dream of Wild Canaries: Peter Schifrin, D. P. Fong Gallery, San Jose, CA
2001 National Feats of Clay, Art League Gallery, Gallery, Lincoln, CA
2001 Peter Schifrin, Central Sierra Arts Council Gallery, Sonora, CA
2000 Group Show, The New Leaf Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2000 Group Exhibition, D. P. Fong Gallery, San Jose, CA
2000 California Clay Competition, (First Place Winner), The Artery, Davis, CA
1993-99 Faculty Exhibition, Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA
1999 Peter Schifrin Ceramic Sculpture, Ann Saunders Gallery, Jamestown, CA
1999 Peter Schifrin & Marti Somers, Central Sierra Arts Council Gallery, Sonora, CA
1998 5 Elements, performance & exhibition, Zaccho Dance Theatre, San Francisco, CA
1998 Group Exhibition, D. P. Fong Gallery, San Jose, CA
1997 Open Studio, Yosemite Studios, San Francisco, CA
1997 Group Exhibition, Claudia Chapline Gallery, Stinson Beach, CA
1995 Group Exhibition, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
1994 Group Exhibition, D.P. Fong Gallery, San Jose, CA
1993 Faculty Exhibition, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA
1993 Faculty Exhibition, Boston University, Boston, MA
1992 Graduate Exhibition, Boston University, Boston, MA
1990-93 Group Exhibition, Fong and Spratt Galleries, San Jose, CA
1989 Fresh Views, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
1989 New Works, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
1988 Introductions, Firehouse Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1988 Introductions, Claudia Chapline Gallery, Stinson Beach, CA
1987-88 Juried Exhibition John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
1986 Juried Exhibition, Gallery 364, Belmont, CA
1982 Self-Portrait (group exhibition), San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
Commissioned Sculpture & Projects
Robert Frost, bronze bust (for Norman Lear), Los Angeles, CA
Norman Lear, bronze busts, (two bronzes, one painted plaster), Los Angeles, CA
Bathers, 3 life-size fiberglass, Barbara Dorn, Associates, San Francisco, CA
Action Torso, Hans Kainz, Wilkes Sport, Associates, San Francisco, CA
Leaves, (Hilton Hotel project), Eleonora Palagi Sculpture Studio, Hollywood, CA
University Art Instruction:
Instructor, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA, (over 27 years) 1993 - 2020
Director, School of Fine Art Sculpture & Sculpture Center, (12 years), 2001- 2013
Oversaw all aspects of Curriculum, hiring, facilities, budgeting, etc.
Diverse problem-solving Including disciplines of:
Courses: Introductory, Intermediate & Advanced Sculpture, Graduate & Undergraduate levels:
Ceramic Sculpture, Plaster & Soapstone Carving,
Wax-Modeling and Bronze–Casting, Wood Construction.
Head & Figure Sculpture, Anatomy for Artists, Figure Drawing and Modeling:
Graduate Seminar in Sculpture (MFA Studio).
Sculpture 1, 2, 3, 4 (introductory thru advanced portfolio courses)
Graduate Seminar: Mixed Media, Professional Practice: Graduate and Undergraduate level
On-line (OL) Instruction & Building: written two OL courses (Sculpture One and Sculpture two)
Oversaw building of OL curriculum
OL Instruction: Figure Modeling, Head & Figure Sculpt, Grad. Figure Modeling, Grad. Prof. Practice
Additional Art Instruction:
Sculpture Instructor, UC Santa Barbara, CA 1997-1998, Ceramic Solutions: Sculpture 105, Sculpture 12
Teaching Associate, Boston University, Boston, MA, 1992-93
Drawing Instructor, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA, 1993
Teaching Assistant, Boston University, Boston, MA, 1990-92
Mold Making Seminar, De Cordova Museum of Art, 1993
Figure Sculpture, California College Arts & Crafts (summer), 1988
Memberships:
International Sculpture Center, Fellow, National Sculpture Society, (former) Pacific Rim Sculptor’s Guild
U.S. Olympic Fencing Team, Los Angeles, CA, 1984
Publications & Films:
Love and Fear (hard bound monograph)
Silver Lining Mother Fucker (book)
All that I know (book)