Simon Toparovsky

Simon Toparovsky is an American artist, most notable for his bronze crucifix above the main altar of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.
Early career
After art school, Simon apprenticed to hand bookbinders in the U.S. and England, studying restoration and conservation of rare books. In 1976 he was invited to head the new apprenticeship program at the Center for Book Arts in New York. While living and teaching there, he created artist books. His Tikal Codex, was acquired by the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum of the Smithsonian Institution and was awarded the special designation “first book as art for the permanent collection”.
Sculpture
Toparovsky moved to Los Angeles in 1981 and began working in bronze and cast iron. He has created panels, figures and objects from nature as elements for mixed-media installations that include architecture, water and landscapes. With this work he has designed private gardens as well as large-scale public art projects. In 1998, he was commissioned to create the life-size bronze crucifix for the main altar of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels which was consecrated in September 2002.,
Toparovsky lives and works in Los Angeles and Milan.
Awards
Among his awards, he has had seven grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, including two Visual Artist Fellowships.
Public and museum exhibitions
* 2007 - “Qui, del Dicibile” (“Here, the Sayable”), exhibition sponsorship awarded by the Minister of Culture of Italy: the Superintendent for Fine Art, Naples; the Consulate of the United States, Naples; the Italian Cultural Institute, Los Angeles.
* 2006 - “Evita’s Perfect Fall”, installation, a work in four hands with Ariel Soulé, Palazzo del Comune, Teglio-Sondrio, Italy, sponsored by the Assessore alla Cultura.
* 2006 - Castello Ursinio, Catania, Sicily.
* 2003 - “La Costituzione Americana”, with Ariel Soulé a work in four hands, installation for the 16th century cloister church of San Paolo Converso, Milano: traveling. Catalog of images, historical and philosophical essays, and poems. (see La Costituzione Americana).
* 2000-01 - International Furniture Design Fair, Milan, Italy; debut of production furniture and furnishings designs: limited edition and one-of-a-kind hand-blown glass lighting fixtures/Andromeda International, Murano; upholstered furniture and hand-woven tables and seating/Vittorio Bonacina e C., Lurago d’Erba.
* 1997 - Humanities Research Center, University of Texas, Austin.
* 1995 - Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College, Claremont, California.
* 1995 - Riverside Museum of Art, California.
* 1987-90 - Phillbrook Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Boston Museum of Fine Art; Chicago Art Institute; Virginia Museum of Fine Art; Museums of Modern Art, Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan: traveling.
* 1988 - Boston Athenaeum.
* 1988 - Toledo Art Museum, Ohio.
* 1984 - Thomas J. Watson Library, Metropolitan Museum, New York.
* 1983 - Neuberger Museum, Purchase, New York.
* 1983-85 - Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, Virginia.
* 1982 - Pratt Institute, Pratt Graphic Center/Manhattan.
* 1981 - Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Institute of Contemporary Art, Richmond (solo).
* 1981 - Kunstmuseum, Zurich.
* 1981 - Cincinnati Museum of Art, Ohio.
* 1981 - Queens Museum, New York.
* 1980 - Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna.
* 1979 - Bibliothèque Nationale, Centre Georges Pompidou (Beaubourg), Museum of Decorative Arts (Palais du Louvre), National Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions, Paris: traveling.
* 1979 - Wildcliff Museum, New Rochelle, New York.
* 1978 - Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles.

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