Joyce Cutler-Shaw is an artist of intermedia, including drawings, installations, public commissions and artists books. Drawing is her primary language, from two dimensional pen and ink works on paper, to their sculptural translations. Her Alphabet of Bones is an original calligraphy inspired by the hollow bones of birds. It has been digitalized and is her own copyrighted font, or typeface. The Alphabet of Bones has been widely published and is central to her many artists books, including The Three Cages, which was chosen in competition for publication by the Center for the Book Arts in New York.

Her artworks since 1972 include two and three dimensional language images for private and public sites such us the word sculptures for her United Nations Plaza installation project, Waters of the Nations/Messages from the World. Her fifteen-year project, The Messenger Cycle (1975-90), was widely exhibited and published. Her current project, The Anatomy Lesson (1990-Present) is its sequel. She is the first visual artist to be appointed Artist-In-Residence, as a Visiting Scholar (1992-Present), by the School of Medicine at the University of California San Diego, and the first nationally, to have such a medical school residency for an independent fine art project. It is titled The Anatomy Lesson, a contemporary re-vision of a traditional theme. She approaches the body as the matrix of the human condition. Her subjects are human identity and the natural world. Her themes are evolution and survival: from reptile into bird, from mammal to human, and from human, perhaps, to humane.

Her public commissions since 1999, include the Mission Valley Branch Library in San Diego, as design team artist with Wheeler, Wimer, Blackman & Associates, Architects (1998-2002). She received a San Diego American Institute of Architects design award for her eight column Sycamore Leaf Canopy, one of her three permanent library installations. The project was commissioned by The City of San Diego Library Department, and The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture. A current commission is for artwork for a modern addition to the original East Carnegie Library in San Jose, California.

She has exhibited internationally since 1972. Her works are presented in both museum and library special collections including New YorkÕs Museum of Modern art, The 42nd Street Library, the Albertina Museum in Austria, The Teylers Museum in the Netherlands, the Wellcome Institute in London, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and in California, at the Getty Museum Library, The University of California San Diego and The Athenaeum Music and Arts Library in La Jolla.

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITIONS/PUBLIC PROJECTS/PROJECTS IN PROCESS

2011

Body Narratives: From the Anatomy Lesson, Smilow Gallery, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, March 24- May 6

2010-2011

Orbital Loops, public metal sculpture commissioned by the County of San Diego, County Operations Center, San Diego CA

2009

Of Water and the River: Meditations on the Rio Grande, New Mexico State University, University Art Gallery, Las Cruces, NM, Sept 11- Oct. 25

Joyce Cutler-Shaw, books, Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, North Reading Room, La Jolla, CA, June 30-July 25

2006-2009

Light Lines and The East Carnegie Calligraphy, East Carnegie Library, Public Art Commission,San Jose, CA

2008

The Anatomy Lesson XX, drawing Installation, dimensional drawings, artists books and a drawing DVD, School of Medicine,
University of California San Diego, May 2 – August 15

2007-2008

Into Flight, courtyard sculpture, private commission, The White Sands of La Jolla, CA. MW Steele Group Architects

2007

Four part installation with Dimensional Alphabet of Bones, Alphabet of Bones Drawings and Poster, Aikido Drawings and
Artists Books, North University Community Branch Library, San Diego, CA

Episodes of the City, Fales Library Gallery, New York University, New York City, 25 May – August

Bone and Bird Works, (two person exhibit with Sarah Perry), Fisher Gallery, University of Southern California,
14 February – 21 April

The Anatomy Lesson XIX: The Anatomy Scroll, DVD installation and drawings, School of Medicine, University of California
San Diego, May-October

2006

The Anatomy Lesson XVIII: Body Iconography, DVD installation and drawings, School of Medicine,University of California
San Diego, June-October

2005

Artist Residency, 2005 Chiayi Art Festival on the Tropic of Cancer. Two installations: The Museum of Seasonal Change and Wild Birds of Taiwan. Chiayi County, Taiwan. June 22-July 7

Bodyscapes II from The Anatomy Lesson, Video installation and drawings, School of Medicine,
University of California San Diego, May-October

2004

Body Language: New and Retrospective Drawings from The Anatomy Lesson, Platt Gallery, University of Judaism,
Los Angeles, CA. Opening June 6 through September 3, 2004.

The Language of Gesture from The Anatomy Lesson, University of California San Diego, Faculty Club, La Jolla, CA.
Opening June 23, through October 6, 2004

2003

Library Quartet, Four concurrent temporary exhibitions, Language Images, University of California San Diego
Geisel Library; The Anatomy Lesson: A Conversation with Johannes de Ketham, The Athenaeum Music and Art Library;
Drawings/Dimensional Drawings, The Taylor Public Library San Diego; Three Sculpture Installations on permanent view (July 2002) and exhibition of Public Projects, Mission Valley Branch Library, San Diego, CA. September-November

The Anatomy Lesson: Unveiling the Fasciculus Medicinae, Limited Edition, Hand Press Artists Book, Robin Price Publisher,
Conn. A dialogue with a 15th century medical text for publication, and exhibition at The Athenaeum Music & Art Library,
La Jolla, CA, September-November

2002

A Decade of Drawing, Selected works from ten years of an artist residency, Video Installation, Artists Books and Drawings,
School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA. September-February

1999-02

Three Installation Projects for the Mission Valley Branch Library, San Diego, CA (WWB Architects, San Diego)
Sycamore Leaf Cascade for Children’s Library; The Railing of Wild River Grasses of sandblasted glass for the balcony
and staircase; The Sycamore Leaf Canopy for eight structural columns, winner, American Institute of Architects, San Diego
Design Award 2002, Commissioned by The City of San Diego Library Department and The City of San Diego Commission
for Arts and Culture. Dedication July 20, 2002

2001

The Anatomy Lesson XII: Memory Pictures, Installation and Video, Body Duplicates/Replicates (dimensional drawings),
School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA. May-July

2000

The Anatomy Lesson XI: Body Botanicals/Body Geography; School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, May-June

1999-00

Urban Landscapes: three installations of bamboo and grasses, (1999) and New York Cityscape: dimensional metal
wall sculpture, Boardroom (2000), Corporate Commission, 560 Lexington Ave, 15th floor, New York City

1999

The Open Cage of Wild Birds and Grasses, two 17′ outdoor street corner sculptures for Stonecrest Village,
San Diego, CA. Commissioned by California Pacific Homes of The Irvine Company. Dedication September 16, 1999

Five Installation Projects for the new Balboa Park Activity Center, Commissioned by the City of San Diego CA:
two terrazzo floor paintings; sandblasted glass doors; The Circle and the Self, a picture story in 72 metal plates
for indoor walls, and in 25 terrazzo tiles for outdoor plaza. (Rob Quigley & Richard Blackman, architects). Dedication April 24, 1999

1998

The DNA Caduceus, commissioned by Aligned Management Associates, Inc., for “Medicine Meets Virtual Reality” conference publications.

Buildingscape, a dimensional metal wall sculpture commissioned for Barnhart Corporate Board Room by WWB Architects, San Diego, CA

Thirty-Six Steps of the Lamed-Vov, permanent outdoor sculpture installation, Gani Art Garden, San Diego, CA

1997-99

The Anatomy Lesson IX & X, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, May-June 98 & May-June 99

1997

Fence of Wild Grasses, permanent installation, 4′ x 62′, hand-wrought iron, Lopez Park overlook, San Diego, CA, private commission

1996

Body Archaeology: from The Anatomy Lesson, Huntington Beach Art Center, Huntington Beach, CA, September-November

Sorrento’s Anatomy: Enchantments Across Time, Gallery 3770 Park, San Diego, CA, February

The Anatomy Lesson VIII, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, three installations, February

1995

The Journey and The Passage, 9′ x 40′ mural collage and 9′ x 6′ three layered sandblasted glass work, private
commission, Andison House, Rancho Santa Fe, CAThe Anatomy Lesson VII, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, three installations, February/March

1994

The Anatomy Lesson: The Human Condition/La Condicion Humana: inSITE94 (A two-city project) Two one-person
installations: entrance atrium, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, and the facade and entrance
waiting room, Hospital General de Tijuana, Mexico, September-NovemberThe Anatomy Lesson, Fine Arts Center, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, MarchThe Anatomy Lesson, Art Gallery, California State University Los Angeles, March-April

1993

The Anatomy Lesson: Re-Vision (drawings, texts, new imaging systems), School of Medicine, University of California
San Diego, School of Medicine, four installations, May-June

1992

Graphic Notes for the Anatomy Lesson, inSITE92, Southwestern College Gallery, San Diego, CA, October

1990

Into Flight/OP Wieken, Teylers Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands, September-November (from The Messenger Cycle)

Carlsbad Water Stories, Magee Park, Carlsbad, CA, June-July (City of Carlsbad commission for temporary outdoor installation)

1989

Seacrest Donor Namewall, commission for the Seacrest Village Retirement Community, Encinitas, CA

1988

Two Deaths, Intersection Gallery, San Francisco, CA. April-May

1987-92

In the Garden of Exotic Blooms, The Banquet, Green Leaves, and Leaves of Gold: four installation projects
commissioned for Volt Corporate Park, Orange, CA

1986

Wingtrace/The Sign of its Track, exhibition, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, January-March, 1986;
Herbert Johnson Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, May-July, 1986 (exhibition, installation, performance)

Messenger; A Performance (with Actor/Director Arthur Wagner), Sushi Performance Gallery, San Diego, CA,
October 7, 1986, and American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY, October 24, 1986

1984-85

Wingtrace/The Sign of its Track, exhibition, San Diego Museum of Natural History, December 1984 – January 1985, and
1985 Messenger, reading/performance, January 11, 1985

1983

Wingtrace, reading/performance, Festival of the New Arts, San Diego, CA, May 20, 1983

Messenger, exhibition, reading/performance, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA, November

1982

Messenger, reading/performances, Center for Music Experiment, University of California San Diego, April 3, 1982;
DC Space, Washington, DC June 3, 1982; Nexus Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, June 4, 1982

Messages from the World/Waters of the Nations, United Nations Plaza, San Francisco, August 6, 1982,
opening event for International Sculpture Conference with support of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and
UNESCO patronage; United Nations Plaza, New York, NY, October 20, 1982 (poems of ice)

1981

Messenger, reading/performances, Center for Music Experiment, University of California, San Diego, March 7,1981;
La Mamelle Gallery, San Francisco, CA, October 2 and 3, 1981; Espace DBD, Los Angeles, CA,
October 24, 1981 (Espace DBD Director, Rachel Rosenthal)

1980

Namewall II, temporary outdoor installation, corner Poydras & St. Charles Aves., New Orleans, Louisiana,
January 28-February 4, Project Sponsor; New Orleans Downtown Development District

Charity Namewall, permanent installation, Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, Project Sponsor: New Orleans
Downtown Development District

1979

The Lady and the Bird, Apropos Gallery, Luzern, Switzerland, exhibit and reading/performance, April-May

1978

Word Portraits and Graphic Theatre, University of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, March-April

Wings for the Voyageur de Beyrouth, Galerie Gaeten, Geneva, Switzerland, June

Word/Image/Project, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, March-April

1977

The Lady and the Bird, La Mamelle, San Francisco, CA, December

1976

We the People, Bicentennial Project Proposal for the U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC

The Lady and the Bird, Fisher Gallery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, September-October

Three Directions, Newport Harbor Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA (three one person exhibits with
Agnes Denes and Channa Horwitz)

1975

After Namewall, University of California Irvine, January-February

1974

The Namewall, 280 foot long wall transformation, International Terminal 2, first installation by an individual artist for
Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA, April 5-June 2