“As a longtime resident of St. Augustine, I’ve witnessed the change of this area from one that was rural outside of the city limits to one that is being constantly altered and developed. My work conveys how the essence of our natural world can be combined with our agenda in a balanced and thoughtful manner.”
– Joe Segal

In reaction to the ongoing commercial and residential development of Northeast Florida, Joe Segal presents Clear Cut as part of the museum’s Lightner Local exhibition series. Carved from wood and accentuated with metal elements, Segal’s striking wall-hung sculptures reimagine the life cycle of native trees and reflect the larger transformation of the local landscape.

While nature can be random, arbitrary, and overabundant, Segal creates order: meticulously selecting materials, and arranging their sequence, form, and pattern. He states: “I make cuts methodically across the wood’s grain, imposing a pattern on the material; breaks are made with the grain, letting the wood’s natural patterns respond. I use burning, stacking, scraping, and rusting to reiterate the material’s passage through time."

Through his interventions, Segal enhances the inherent characteristics of the materials he works with. He describes his work as “man’s need for order intersecting with the order of nature”.

About the Artist

Joe Segal is a North Florida artist whose most distinctive works are wall-hung sculptures carved from beams and accentuated with metal elements. He was born in New York in 1963 and attended Flagler College in Saint Augustine, Florida graduating magna cum laude with a B.A. in visual arts. Segal continued his art education by studying bronze casting at the Sculpture Center in New York City.

Segal has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards for his work including a fellowship from the State of Florida in 2001 and several grants from the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida. He has exhibited his work throughout Florida as well as in Atlanta, New York, Paris, and Hawaii. His work is represented in many private and corporate collections and he has done outdoor, public works for the cities of Jacksonville, Saint Augustine, and Atlantic Beach in Florida.

About Lightner Local

Created to showcase the extraordinary talents of artists who live in the Northeast and Central Florida regions, Lightner Local is supported by the Benjamin and Jean Troemel Arts Foundation.