John Geldersma

John Geldersma (born October 16, 1942, in New Orleans, Louisiana) is known for his wooden sculptures of what he calls "contemporary tribalism".

Life Geldersma earned a BFA from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana) and a MFA from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. The artist has cited his early immersion in the intersection of such divergent cultures as French, Spanish, African-American, Caribbean, British, and Native American as a major influence on his art. Geldersma divides his time between his native Louisiana and Colorado.

Works Geldersma began carving totems and masks in 1970, inspired by African art.

His Spirit Poles are carved, smooth, minimalist, vertical, wooden poles with tapered ends, usually three or more feet long, some on bases. Geldersma works with aspen, pecan, weathered driftwood, and salvaged wood to create totemic poles, cairns, and tablets. Gelderma has said he makes the pieces with eyes at eye level to give viewers a sense of "confrontation and connection". 2013 Variations, Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art, Santa Fe 2009 Presence of Spirit, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, Louisiana 2007 Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee 2006 Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana 2005 S.O.F.A, courtesy of Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, Illinois 1998 Marguerite Oesteicher Fine Art, New Orleans, Louisiana 1997 Retrospective Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana 1996 Hotel díVille, Surrenne, France 1996 R. Treger Gallerie, Paris, France 1996 Cline LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico 1995 Butters Gallery Ltd., Portland, Oregon 1993 Gasperi Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana 1992 Mill Street Gallery, Aspen, Colorado 1991 Willougby Sharp Gallery, New York, New York 1991 Artworks Gallery, Seattle, Washington 1989 Duplantier Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana 1989 LewAllen/Butler Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico 1988 Primitivist Sculpture: John Geldersma, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas 1987 Via Serpents, University Art Museum, Lafayette, Louisiana 1977 Memphis Art Academy, Memphis, Tennessee 1967 Rutgers, The State University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 1965 Fine Arts Gallery, The University of Southwestern, Louisiana, Lafayette, Louisiana

Selected group exhibitions Source: 2012 Totems & Talismans, ENO Gallery, †Hillsboro, North Carolina 2011 NEWMEXORADO, Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, New Mexico 2001 Artists of S.O.F.A., Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, Illinois 2000 Under the Influence: Artists Respond to the Twentieth Century, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, Louisiana Five From Louisiana, Center for Fine and Performing Arts, Pensacola, Florida 1999 Winter Group Exhibition, J. Cotter Gallery, Beaver Creek, Colorado McLaren Markowitz Gallery, Boulder, Colorado 1996 Gallerie R. Teger, Paris, France 1995 Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, Idaho 1993 The Bayou Biennial, BCís 313 Gallery, New York, New York 1992 Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukie, Wisconsin 1991 Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukie, Wisconsin Born on the Bayou: Celebrating Arts of Louisiana, CBís 313 Gallery, New York, New York 1990 Art in the Garden VIII, American Crafts Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio 1987 Return to Eden: John Geldersma and David Butler, Todd Capp Gallery, New York, New York 1986 Visual Arts: The Southeast 1986, One Securities Center, Georgia State University, Georgia 1984 The Third Coast Exhibition, Art League of Houston Gallery, Houston, Texas 1983 A Collection-A Collector: The Norman Fischer Collection, Jacksonville Art Museum, Jacksonville, Florida 1980 First Louisiana Biennial Sculpture Invitational, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 1977 Fetishes, 112 Greene Street, New York, New York Ninth Annual Invitational, Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1976 Louisiana Bien Amis, Louisiana Bicentennial Exhibition, Paris, France 1973 Louisiana Craft Council Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana 1966 Avant Garde Annual Exhibition, Central Park, New York, New York 1965 Twenty-Third Annual Southeastern Competition, Atlanta, Georgia 1964 Louisiana State Annual Competition, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 1963 Annual Competition Sponsored by the American Association of University Women, Dallas, Texas