Max Shuster

Max Shuster earned his MFA in Photography from the Maryland Institute College of Art after receiving a BFA in photography from Watkins College of Art. Currently based in California, he has shown work extensively throughout the southeast for ten years, as well as Baltimore and L.A. Shuster received the Maryland Institute College of Art Graduate Research Grant in 2013 and a MICA merit scholarship award in 2012. Shuster’s photographed assemblages have formally overcome the restrictions of the camera and engages viewers in a relevant critical discussion.

STATEMENT

I construct sculptures so that I may photograph them once they are finished. Often the things I document with my camera are temporary creations such as octopus tentacles wired into objects, potato chips glued together, or hundreds of sleeping pills made into dinnerware. The process involves breaking something down so that it can later be re-assembled, therefore the beginning can be re-seen.

RESUME

Education

Master of Fine Arts, Photography, Maryland Institute College of Art, 2014

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Photography, Watkins College of Art, Nashville, TN, 2010

Solo Exhibitions

2014 Octopodal Origins, Decker Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2011   Octopodal Extractions, Cummins Station Track 13 Gallery, Nashville, TN

          Young Turks, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

Group Exhibitions

2016 Unknown Artists, Exclusive Collections, Beverly Hills, CA

          New Masters, Exclusive Collections, San Diego, CA

          Photography + Iterations, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

2015 Synergy, Gallery Q, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

         11th Anniversary Show, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA

         35th Anniversary Show, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

         Clothing Optional, Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA

          Beasties, Sebastopol Center For The Arts, Sebastopol, CA

          The Dark Side, Night Photography, 1650 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2014 Still Life Exhibition, The Center for Fine Art Photography,

          Fort Collins, CO(Juror: Rebecca Senf)

          Under The Radar, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

2013   Curious Deviations, Non-Fiction Gallery, Savannah, GA

            Strange Figurations, Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY

            Electron Salon, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA

            Summer Selections, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

            First Saturday Openings, Easton Gallery, Easton, MD

            Good Light!, Current Space, Baltimore, MD

            2013 International Juried Competition, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA(Juror: Holly Harrison, Curatorial Assistant, Los   Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA

            Snap To Grid, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA

2012   Small Packages 18, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

           Photographic and Electronic Media Fall Show, Fox Gallery, Baltimore, MD

            Protest Through Art, Brickhouse Art Space, Baltimore, MD

            On the Threshold, Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA

            Art Without Borders, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

2011   Small Packages 17, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

           Little Monsters, Renaissance Center, Dickson, TN

            Future Show, Edgehill Village Studio, Nashville, TN

2010   Small Packages 16, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

           Senior Thesis Exhibition, Currey Gallery, Nashville, TN

           Artificial Flowers Exhibition, Currey Gallery, Nashville, TN

           30th Anniversary Retrospective, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

           Juried Student Exhibition, Cummins Station, Nashville, TN

           Zeros and Ones, Climate Gallery, New York, NY

           The Food Show, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

2009   Small Packages 15, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

            Juried Student Exhibition, Cummins Station, Nashville, TN

            Creature Feature, Studio 2 Gallery, Austin, TX

2008    Small Packages 14, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

             Shifting Focus, Renaissance Center, Dickson, TN

             Chromatics Photo Show, Chromatics Laboratories, Nashville, TN

2007   City Hall Exhibition, City Hall Venue, Nashville, TN

             Small Packages 13, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

             Artist's in Heat, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

2006   Small Packages 12, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

             Chromatics Photo Show, Chromatics Laboratories, Nashville, TN

Collections

Opryland Corporation, Nashville, TN

Edward Jones Financial Institution, Nashville, TN

Cummings Station, Nashville, TN

The office of Senator Bob Corker, Washington D.C

Awards

2013 Maryland Institute College of Art, Graduate Research Grant

2012 Maryland Institute College of Art, Merit Scholarship Award

Publications

Collage Makers, Barcelona Spain, March 2014

Harper’s Magazine, March 2014

The Nashville Scene, October 2011

The Tennessean, January 2010

The Nashville Scene, 2010

The Nashville Scene, 2009

Blackbook Magazine, January 2009

Tennessee Artists/ Bob Corker Senate Office book, Washington/Tennessee 2007

The Nashville Scene, 2001

The City Paper, 2001