Gordon Shepard
1930 - 2011; New York City ∙ CE artist from 1992 - 2011
Gordon Shepard was raised in an artistic family. He performed and made visual art his entire life. Shepard’s father, Otis Shepard, was a well-known commercial artist and art director of the Wrigley Company for thirty years. Shepard worked at Creativity Explored’s second studio from 1992 until his death in December 2011. Shepard created exclusively representational drawings and paintings, using acutely accurate perspective and shading, and saturated colors. From acrobats to clowns to striped tents, the common theme running through all of his artwork is the circus. Shepard was once a clown in Big John Strong & Sons circus and he loved to reminisce about his days as a performer. When he wasn't talking about clowns, Shepard visually explored the theme in all manner of media. In 2002, he created a sculptural rendition of a circus sideshow, meticulously executed on 1/12 scale, taking him over a year to complete. Shepard was the subject of a documentary film appropriately titled Clown (2007).
Select Exhibitions & Projects
2017
Art and Advocacy: To Be Developmentally Disabled, California Museum, Sacramento, CA
2013
SIDESHOW, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2011
Structure, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
SMALL, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
The Masters, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2010
Ritual/Habitual, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Paper!Awesome!, Baer Ridgeway Exhibitions, San Francisco, CA
Where Are We?, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Santos y Otros Creatures, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2009
"Science" Fiction, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
TV and Me, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2008
Fibrocosm, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2007
Super Heroes Super Villains, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Seeing Memory, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2006
Sacred Places, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
And Then... , Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Vessels, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
The Beat Goes On, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Notables, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2005
Revenge of Monster, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Aliens: the Green Ones, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
The Pink Show, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2004
Spirits & Saints, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
You Are Here, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Functionable, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Critters, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2003
Monster, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA