JOSEF WILHELM "JUPP" SOETEBIER
Josef Wilhelm "Jupp" Soetebier
b. St. Louis (1960 - Living)
Raised in the American Midwest in what was once known as The German Triangle, Mr. Soetebier's work explores what effect his Deutsch heritage, ancestral family, and the myths and traditions of his peoples have had on memory and the way he perceives and goes about the world.
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"Jupp Soetebier calls his work an examination of "personal archaeology and the genesis of memory, while revealing some of my identity." His abstract sculpted surfaces expose a complex, multi-layered journey. The layers are composed of wood, fibers, and acrylic paint that are hand-sculpted across a visual plane, melding discovery into tactile and emotive experiences.
(This exhibiton) Status Stratified examines identity through multi-layered compositions."
- Marian Jansen op de Haar, Curator at Acumen Galley
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"... (His work) seems to be part of a larger landscape, something vast, and yet something intimate -- disturbing and unsettling... and yet beautiful and thought provoking in the same way."
- Prof. David Reif, Juror for NOOBAA at 3 Square Gallery
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Mr. Soetebier received his Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Florida in 1988 and taught drawing at the New World School of the Arts in Miami. He was an original member of the South Florida Art Center and later worked as a decorative painter in New York City and Los Angeles where he was also admitted into the Los Angeles Art Association.
A frequent exhibitor at such events as The Other Art Fair by Saatchi, stARTup, and Conception; his work was recently included in the 79th Crocker Kingsley in Sacramento and solo shows at Acumen Gallery in Napa Valley and Imago Gallery in San Francisco. He is an active member of TAG Gallery in LA.
Jupp resides in Northern California with his wife and Leonberger dogs.
Quotes
"Every day I walk with coming to terms with both a millennia old connection to the land and people that is Germany today; and, at the same time staring straight into a jarring disconnect of not having lived through the traumas of the last century as my German cousins have. There is a deep part of my work that meanders around this."
"Inspiration is a fallacy and a lie. I create because I am compelled to. Routine and sanctuary are my only requirements."
"For me, the connection between touch and vision is hardwired and extremely intimate. Because of this I will furiously sculpt, craft and hewn the surfaces of my work. More than a few times have I inadvertently cut myself deeply and bled into the piece."
"As a very young child, I would lay awake at night, meditate, and remember the time before I was born. I could render it clearly in my mind. It was utterly black and infinite, yet I was never afraid. Though as an adult my connection to the before time has faded somewhat, I spend a considerable amount of time trying to capture and manifest those ancient trance-like images.
"The forest calls to me now as it did when I was a child old enough to start to grasp the world beyond the crib. I would venture into the woods near my childhood home, alone, creating fantasy adventures, and always late for dinner... worrying my adoptive mother to death."
"When I was a toddler, maybe 4-years-old, my adoptive father saw me scribbling and coloring all over the page in my coloring book. He took the crayon from my hand and showed me how to color in the between the lines with ordered strokes. I remember thinking how much I hated that. Whether this is an embellished memory or not, it is the earliest moment I am cognizant of that has had the most profound effect on my life ever since."
"I am my memories and nothing at all. I am forever delightfully unsatisfied and eternally curious. A ragged peddler of thoughts."
A note about works prior to 2017.
"In August of 2017, I went into the studio and destroyed every canvas still in my possession created between 1994 and that day. Burned them all in a bonfire. Then I started over.
For a selected glimpse of my work between the years 1984 and 1989, view them here: (coming soon)."
- Jupp Soetebier
A link to Mr. Soetebier's photography is HERE.
Solo Exhibition at Acumen Gallery - Napa, California
Los Angeles Art Association - Gallery 825
79th Crocker Kingsley - Sacramento, California
Studio - Northern California
Freely Mad Pop-Up SF with Ben Freemantle & Madison Keesler
