Alan
Shields

Shields grew up in rural Kansas on his family’s farm, where he developed skills in sewing from his mother and sisters—a foundation for an artist whose work later celebrated stitching and textiles. This formative experience deeply influenced his creative process, with works like the 2001 Pop-up Nature series reflecting the tones and shapes of the Kansas prairie. His adventurous spirit, nurtured by stories of the Santa Fe Trail, ultimately led him to pursue art on the East Coast in the late 1960s, setting the stage for a career defined by vibrant, unconventional materials.

Shields was known for his experimental use of materials, rejecting traditional oil paints in favour of cloth, beads, thread, and rope to craft dynamic, textured compositions. His versatility extended into printmaking, as seen in his 1981 print series The Castle Window Set, where he combined etching, aquatint, and handmade paper from India. Inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic designs, Shields also explored three-dimensional art, creating tepee-like structures such as Liberty Mutual (1972), which challenged the flat, rectilinear conventions of Contemporary Art and architecture.

In the 1990s, Shields introduced 'The Worm', a recurring character in his work that symbolised both humility and heroism. This playful alter ego appeared in works like The Worm Spirit Ascends Olympus and The Worm Tacks Through Loose Latitudes, reflecting Shields’s fascination with storytelling and movement. Whether traversing grand landscapes or inhabiting domestic scenes like Worms in the Kitchen, The Worm captured the artist’s inventive, adventurous spirit and his ability to bring personality and narrative into abstract art.