Edwin Schlossberg is an artist and poet whose art practice carries the written word into the realm of visual art. Schlossberg creates visual and poetic worlds using a variety of unconventional media such as aluminum, vinyl, plexiglass, and copper. One of the fathers of interactive art and design, Schlossberg developed as an artist during the 1960s in New York, as a younger member of the dynamic art scene. Working with artists such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and James Rosenquist, Schlossberg developed an art practice that was unique, focusing on the meaning of words instead of their form. What shaped his artistic development significantly was his introduction to Tatyana Grossman, a Russian printmaker and publisher who ran Universal Limited Art Editions. Grossman published Schlossberg’s first book WORDSWORDSWORDS, which was exhibited at the Jewish Museum in 1968. He has ever since been a pioneer in the field of interactive experience.
Schlossberg’s work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and internationally. It is featured in private collections and museums, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art. In 2004, he won the National Arts Club Medal of Honor, and in 2011, was appointed by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts. Schlossberg is the author of 11 books and is also the principal and founder of ESI Design, an experience design studio in New York City.