Dan Droz Studio
Pittsburgh, PA
+1 (412) 298 4416
dan@dandroz.com
Dan Droz is a Pittsburgh based sculptor whose large-scale freestanding and wall-based works incorporate folds, reflection and artificial glows to draw attention to the limits of perception. He is recognized for developing novel methods for forming metal, glass and wire mesh.
His work has been included in numerous solo and juried exhibitions including the Westmoreland Museum of Art, the Pittsburgh International Airport, the Harrisburg Art Center and commissions for both commercial and private collections. Droz has been the recipient of many awards including the Mary Phillips Award for Sculpture from Seton Hill University, ID Magazine’s “Designer of Year” and “Best of America” by Abitari (Italy).
For 17 years Droz served on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), teaching in both the College of Fine Arts and Business School, where he co-founded the first university program in the U.S. to bring together engineers, MBA’s, artists and designers in a single program, introducing the concept of ‘design thinking.” He also directed the Design for Business Initiative, funded by the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) and the training of guides for the world’s largest exhibition of design that toured 9 Soviet cities, sponsored by the United States Information Agency (USIA). Droz graduated cum laude from Harvard College in 1972, with a double major in the History of Science and Visual and Environmental Studies and in 1996, was recognized as a “Distinguished Design Alumni” from Harvard College at the 30th anniversary of their Visual Arts Center.
Artist Statement:
In observing “what is essential is invisible to the eye,” The Little Prince in Saint-Exupery’s story reminds us of our limited perception. What we’re seeing is only part of the story and can even be illusory – camouflaging or misdirecting our attention away from some of the more subtle and important aspects of what we are observing.
This evanescent quality of observation has been a lifelong curiosity for me. As a teenager, I was interested in magic, with its two realities: what observers see and what is really going on. As a sculptor, although less involved with deceit, I’m often dealing with some of the same issues. Suspension has qualities of levitation. Reflection and use of mirrors can warp one’s sense of how a space is configured. And certainly, what’s underneath or behind the plane that is most visible, suggests that something important lurks ‘behind the curtain.’
My work employs novel methods of folding and forming materials including metal, glass and wire mesh and often incorporates hidden reflective surfaces and the use of perspective that defies easy comprehension. The forms seem simple: An open box. A tabletop. But their apparent simplicity belies an underlying attempt to expose the fallacy of understanding what is real.
In sculpture, this is immediately apparent in the sense that we are only seeing one view at a time, the experience changing as we view a work from different positions. But there are also the reflections, shadows, negative space, and in the case of layered planes, the interior spaces that are easy to miss and require time for them to reveal their secrets. Beyond the literal gaps in perception, there are metaphoric issues at play. The fact that our perceptions of reality are limited and arguably missing much of the good stuff, underscores a central challenge in my work – changing the way we experience reality without completely abandoning it.
MEET THE ARTIST
Video Tour
“Behind The Fold” launch at Carnegie Museum of Art
Dan Droz Creates “The Gathering”
The Backstory
From Inspiration to Installation
Floating Clouds and Convolutions
Studio Tour
PRESS
Made you Look: Magician-turned-designer-turned sculptor Dan Droz
by Nancy Kathryn Walecki
From Harvard Magazine
Seated at a diner in Palm Desert, California, sculptor Dan Droz ’72 performs a magic trick. A Pittsburgh native, he’s here to oversee the installation of four of his pieces at the Melissa Morgan Fine Art gallery. The 72-year-old artist (and former magician) drapes a napkin over his fist and pours a packet of stevia on top. “So, for now, it’s here,” he says. Then, with an indecipherable move of his hand, he makes the powder disappear. “But if we want it to come back, just hold out your hand,” he says, leaning in conspiratorially. A tilt of the napkin, and out pours the stevia.
Dan Droz’s Strip District sculpture to be spot for "gathering”
by Justin Velucci
From Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle
“Meet me at the Kaufmann’s clock?” Try: “Meet me at the blue sculpture!”
The developer of a Strip District mixed-use development is set this month to unveil an abstract, 12-foot-tall structure at an entrance to the Three Rivers Heritage Trail that could become Pittsburgh’s next meeting-place calling card.
Designed by the hyperproductive Dan Droz, the piece is titled “The Gathering” and is intended to showcase sculpture as a means to elevate public spaces, the artist said.
“If you look at the sculpture, it’s figurative — you can see outlines of two or three figures. You might discover two people high-fiving each other or, from another angle, a group of three people just hanging out,” Droz, who is Jewish, told the Chronicle. “Together with the fact that it’s at the entrance to the trail, it’s intended to provide an iconic gathering space for people going to the Heritage Trail.
How I Created My Art Career at 69: Finding Meaning in an Over-50 Career Change
by Taylor Marks
In Ageist Magazine
71-year-old Dan Droz began his new art career at the age of 69. This spring, his large-scale work titled “The Gathering,” a 12-foot-tall sculpture, will be unveiled in Pittsburgh. The work is intended to create a new gathering spot, while showcasing the power of sculpture to elevate a public space. His is a journey of taking a parallel path to his previous one, rather than a complete reinvention. His work has been included in numerous solo and juried exhibitions including the Westmoreland Museum of Art, the Pittsburgh International Airport, the Harrisburg Art Center and commissions for both commercial and private collections. Droz has been the recipient of many awards including the Mary Phillips Award for Sculpture from Seton Hill University, ID Magazine’s “Designer of Year” and “Best of America” by Abitare (Italy).
Artist Profile in Shady Avenue Magazine
The 25th Anniversary issue of Shady Ave Magazine profiles Dan Droz in Theresa Sullivan’s article “Transforming Reality.”
The feature gives a spectacular overview of Droz’s life’s work, previews some work for his upcoming solo show at James Gallery, and captured this sentiment that he frequently shares when it comes to his work:
“I like the idea that there’s more than one way to view or experience a work of art or life. We are all in flux, we are all changing. So whether you’re making art or raising a family, you’re just trying to figure out how to transform yourself into something new or different without compromising your core.”
Professor Turned Artist Dan Droz Shows Work At 'Elusive Spaces' Exhibit
Interview with Pittsburgh Today Live, KDKA-TV/CBS, Pittsburgh, PA, June 24, 2021
A ‘metaphor for how we see the world’: The art of Dan Droz
By Justin Vellucci
From Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle
“You look at a sculpture [and] the closer you look, several questions might arise: ‘How is that trick done?’ ‘How is this piece made?’” Droz told the Chronicle. “The more you look at the piece, you realize what you initially saw is only part of the picture. And that, really, is a metaphor for how we see the world: There’s a lot that isn’t revealed.”
Those itching to experience Droz’s work in person no longer need to wait or wonder when the COVID-19 veil will be lifted. Droz is now exhibiting several works in a solo show dubbed “Elusive Spaces” at the new Associated Artists Gallery, 100 43rd St. in Lawrenceville, through June 25.
Droz isn’t new to sculpting. Though the Pittsburgher retired in 2019 in his late 60s after a 38-year career in graphic and furniture design to dedicate himself full-time to his art, he had been sculpting for many years.
And COVID-19 did not slow him down.
Modern sculpture by Dan Droz on tap for Sharpsburg’s Zynka Gallery
by Mary Ann Thomas
From TRIB:LIVE
“Seemingly working sculptural magic with metal, the works of Pittsburgh artist Dan Droz will be featured in Gallery 900 …. Droz fashions aluminum panels, bars and rods to create complex forms without the use of welding or mechanical connections….
Some of the artwork literally glows from within. Droz uses fluorescent finishes to coat the interior spaces and reverse sides of his pieces. According to Droz, this illuminating effect promotes the understanding that the most important things are those that are not easily observed.”
Read more.
Retired marketer launches new career as sculptor.
by Toby Tabachnik
From Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle
“Transformations” is an apt title for Dan Droz’s collection of innovative sculptures, colorful metal sheets that have been folded into new, imaginative shapes while simultaneously retaining their original character.
Transformation is also an apt word to describe Droz himself, who at the age of 68 retired from a 38-year career in graphic and furniture design to reinvent himself as a prolific artist.