DONALD LIPSKI: 2015 Alumni Achievement Award Honoree

Donald Lipski in front of his installation The Candy Box, 2013. Plastics, steel, LED lighting. 21’ x 13’ x 14”. For the new Pinnacle Bank Arena in the Haymarket Section of Lincoln, NE, Lipski created a giant box of chocolates, paying homage to Lincoln's history as a center of chocolate manufacturing. Many of the chocolates have shapes and images that relate to symbols of Lincoln, past and present. (Photo: John Grant) — Donald Lipski in front of his installation *The Candy Box*, 2013. Plastics, steel, LED lighting. 21’ x 13’ x 14”. For the new Pinnacle Bank Arena in the Haymarket Section of Lincoln, NE, Lipski created a giant box of chocolates, paying homage to Lincoln’s history as a center of chocolate manufacturing. Many of the chocolates have shapes and images that relate to symbols of Lincoln, past and present. (Photo: John Grant)

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards presents the Alumni Achievement Award to past Scholastic Awards recipients who have become innovators and trendsetters in their fields. The 2015 Honoree is Donald Lipski, a renowned sculptor who has received numerous awards throughout his career, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, three grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Rome Prize. He is represented by Galerie Lelong in New York. His work is in the public collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Detroit Institute of Art, among many other prominent institutions. Recently, his work has focused on large-scale works for public spaces.

Lipski received his Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Gold Key in 1965 for a welded sculpture he created while attending Highland Park High School in Highland Park, IL. He has served as a juror for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for many years, most recently in 2015. In an interview with the Alliance, he shared, “[while] rummaging through my drawers, I found I still had the Gold Key! I think the whole program is great; it’s a treat for me to see all this young talent, so ambitious, enthusiastic, and accomplished!”

Lipski’s sculpture which received a Scholastic Art Award in 1965.] — Lipski’s sculpture which received a Scholastic Art Award in 1965.

Lipski was honored during our National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall and presented with a 3D-printed trophy (generously created and donated by 3D Systems) by artist and fellow Scholastic Awards Alum Tom Otterness. During his acceptance speech, Lipski encouraged the 2015 National Medalists to “work, because so much of what you learn comes from the working. Follow your own sense. Think big. Throw out your rules. Experiment. Trust your intuition. The joy of art and writing is discovery of new ideas and new worlds. When you take risks, that’s where the adventure and excitement is. Be brave.”

Past Alumni Achievement Honorees are Kay WalkingStick (2014), Zac Posen (2013), Edward Sorel (2012), John Baldessari (2011), Mel Bochner and Carolyn Forché (2010), Tom Otterness and Thane Rosenbaum (2009), and Philip Pearlstein and Joyce Maynard (2008).

To learn more about Donald Lipski’s work, please check out his website at www.donaldlipski.net.