What Are Art Boxes

Art Boxes are mystical and abstract presentations. They are best compared to three dimensional political cartoons, poems or erudite essays. Through his sculptures, Ted tells stories that challenge our way of thinking with juxtapositions of ancient and modern facts, often with a humorous twist. They concisely combine technology, mythology, religion, science, politics and more.

The Evolution of Ted’s Art

Ted started his Art Box work in 1994. Prior to his Art Boxes, he had experimented with various art forms such as photography, drawing, sculpted walking sticks, painting and more. The evolution of his artwork culminated in these Art Boxes, which became his passion.

One can see the evolution of Ted’s thinking and abilities in his early work. His art went from a few cheeky comments on current events, to a number of boxes where he was exploring color, design, placement, and several other art techniques, to the juxtaposition of thoughts, and eventually to the beginning of what would shape the rest of his 25 year art career, involved stories and commentary about today’s society told through his art.

After a few years of experimenting with objects, placement, design and color, Ted became more comfortable … and daring … with his art. The art became more sophisticated, as did his stories, messages, and commentary. Ted was always a provocateur, and now he was inviting that aspect of his personality into his artwork. He didn’t want to just create pretty boxes, he wanted them to make the viewer think. If the viewer found themselves thinking or talking about a box a few hours, or days later, that was success!

As the sophistication of Ted’s work progressed, the time to create each box increased. During the first 4 years of his work, he was producing about a box every month. By 1998, the stories, the boxes, and his messages became more complex. In turn, the time to think about and create each box grew to 4-6 months.

Now there was no stopping Ted. He had a lot to say … and art was the medium in which he found his voice and expressed his opinions, insights and commentary to the world. In many cases Ted proved to be a seer, commentating on a future that was about to come true a few years later.

His artwork continued to evolve and get more sophisticated. Realizing there was even more to express and additional dimensions to deal with, Ted evolved from just plan glass covers to stained glass designed covers. Those evolved even further when he added etchings to the glass.

Now the stories and art were complete. Ted had a rich palette to pull from with his found and created objects, colors, stained glass and etchings. He was now able to bring his brilliant scientific mind to art and share his provocative thoughts with the world.

Click on the images below to explore Ted’s Art Boxes through his career arc.

Additional Artworks

Ted had a rich and varied art career and he was not limited to Art Boxes alone. Ted created abstract paintings, modern sculptures and much more. Explore more of Ted’s art work by clicking on the image below.