Donald Lipski - Alumnus, 1965

“It seemed that I should follow my passion, and trust that all would work out. So far, so good.”



The Inside Story
Since I was a young child, I’ve been making things. In high school, I excelled in my art classes, and was very ambitious about it. I was welding steel, making life sized plaster sculptures, and so on. But as the son of a businessman I felt I would follow in his footsteps. It never seemed realistic to think of trying to support myself and a family making art. Then I took a pottery class with Don Reitz, a romantic and inspirational teacher, and I re-thought everything. It seemed that I should follow my passion, and trust that all would work out. So far, so good.

My advice to future sculptors: Get lots of storage space.

Current Status
Full-time artist, making sculptures for gallery & museum shows, and also larger commissioned works for public spaces.

Career Path/Artistic Path
In college, Donald Lipski studied History at the University of Wisconsin. In his final year, he took a few art courses, re-finding the passion of his high school years. Donald attended graduate school in ceramics at Cranbrook Academy of Art, then found a job as an art teacher at The University of Oklahoma. After teaching for a few years, he moved to New York where he began to exhibit work. After working in New York for a year, Donald showcased his work at small shows at the Museum of Modern Art. As the years have gone by, he has continued to make art, and has gradually taken on the larger projects.


Got Any Jacks? Miami International Airport, 2004

Exhibitions/Publications
Public Commissions

• 2004 Got Any Jacks? Miami International Airport
• 2003 Five Easy Pieces, Washington DC Convention Center
• 2001 Tools, Wellington Webb Municipal Building, Denver, Colorado
• 2000 Rodin Rodannadanna, Avenue of the Arts, Kansas City
• 2000 Sirshasana, Grand Central Market, Grand Central Terminal, New York City
• 1997 The Yearling, Doris Friedman Plaza, Central Park, sponsored by the Public Art Fund, New York, NY
• 1997 The LaGuardia Suite, Commission for Concert Hall, LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, New York

Selected Public Collections

• The Art Museum of South West Texas, Midland
• The Brooklyn Museum, New York, New York
• The City of Denver, Denver, Colorado
• The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
• The Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio
• The Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
• The Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, Michigan
• The Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana
• The Jewish Museum, New York, New York
• LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Art, New York
• Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, Missouri
• The Miami Art Museum
• The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
• The Minneapolis Museum of Fine Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
• The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
• The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
• The Museum of Modern Art, Miami
• The New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana
• The Panza Collection, Italy
• The Phoenix Museum of Art, Phoenix, Arizona
• The Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, California
• The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York

Award History

• 2000 American Academy in Rome, The Rome Prize
• 1993 American Academy of Arts and Letters, Academy Award
• 1990 National Endowment for the Arts
• 1988 Guggenheim Fellowship
• 1986 New York Foundation of the Arts Fellowship
• 1984 National Endowment for the Arts
• 1978 National Endowment for the Arts, Awards in the Visual Arts

Recognition through The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

• The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 1965