Derek Weisberg

Derek Weisberg creates works which are emotional and psychological self-portraits. "Through my art I aim to make sense of my life, my experiences, and the times I live. I do not wish to represent like a photo, instead achieve a guttural, visceral, heartfelt sensibilities. Accessibility is key as I attempt to express basic human qualities, which are universal and timeless. At its core my work reflect humanist ideology; searching for truth and universal morality based on the commonality of the human condition. Much of my work focuses on conditions of longing, loss, dysfunction, fragility, vulnerability and melancholy. In 2006, when my mother passed away I began to include themes of death, afterlife, spirituality and the metaphysical. A traditional Jewish concept and practice, which I exercise through my work, is that “The voyage of the soul is dependent upon the actions of the ones who are living”. Themes of death are explored through expressing life. To experience death is to experience the most unique situation in life; it is simultaneously completely familiar and alien, definitive and confusing, guaranteed and mysterious. My work is a combination and slow digestion of all these dualities and subtleties."

He was born in 1983 and began sculpting at a very early age starting with the medium of mashed potatoes as soon as he could hold a fork and knife, moving onto action figure assemblage when he could load a hot glue gun, and at age 7 he transitioned into the medium of ceramics, which was the beginning of his lifelong love and ultimate passion. He unwaveringly pursued ceramics sculpture throughout his childhood and teens, in Benicia, CA, where he was raised. At age 18 he moved to Oakland, CA, to pursue his love for ceramics and art in general and attended California College of Arts and Crafts. At CCAC he received several awards and graduated with high honors in 2005 with a BFA. Since then Weisberg has co-owned his own gallery, Boontling Gallery, as well as curated numerous other shows. He has also worked with highly esteemed artists such as Stephen De Staebler, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Manuel Neri, and many others. In addition Weisberg has maintained a strong and demanding studio practice, exhibiting regionally, nationally, and internationally. Weisberg has participated in over 90 shows in the last 8 years, and there are no signs of slowing down in the future. Weisberg currently lives and works in NY and is faculty at Greenwich House Pottery.