If you have driven through the city of Baltimore even once, you have undoubtedly seen Paul Daniel’s kinetic outdoor sculpture. Many initially appear to be multicolored and mirrored windmills, with metal parts reacting and moving according to weather conditions. Over many years of working in Baltimore, Paul Daniel has received a number of major commissions in the region for his sculpture, which address facets of nature and wind, light, and movement. Daniel’s works have been exhibited on streetscape medians, sculpture gardens, plazas and private residences and are engaging to viewers, both to pedestrians and auto passengers alike.
In addition, Daniel’s work has been exhibited at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art in Wilmington, DE, The American University Museum Katzen Arts Center in Washington, DC, Goya Contemporary Gallery in Baltimore, and the International Kinetic Sculpture Exhibition and Symposium in Boynton Beach, Florida.
Daniel has received a number of awards for his sculpture, among them a Municipal Art Society Grant, MD State Art Council Individual Artists Grant, a Henry Walters Traveling Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant. The artist received his BFA at the Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO and his MFA from Rinehart School of Sculpture at MICA.
In this audio conversation with Ben Levy, Daniel discusses the trajectory of his career, the decisions that led him to Baltimore, and the reasons he has stayed here to build a highly successful practice. All the photos were shot by Ben Levy in Daniel’s Clipper Mill studio in November, 2014. More info about the artist here.
Author/ Interviewer Benjamin Levy is a curator and printmaker living in Baltimore. He is the Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Prints, Drawings & Photographs at The Baltimore Museum of Art and a 2009 graduate of MICA.