Joe Mooney, celebrated sculptor, writer, and artist, has died at 74

Joe Mooney, 74, of Philadelphia, longtime celebrated sculptor, writer, artist, and veteran, died Saturday, July 27, of cardiac arrest at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center after a long series of illnesses.

Captivated by form and space and color, and driven, even as a boy, to build things, Mr. Mooney uncovered his calling as a sculptor during a mechanical drafting class at Villanova University. He was fascinated by the design and construction process of the shapes they were charting, how they fit together to tell a story, and he discovered he was good at creating them.

So he earned degrees in sculpture at Pennsylvania State University and Alfred University in New York, set up a studio in West Philadelphia, and built hundreds of pieces over 44 years that were sold to private collectors, exhibited in museums, galleries, and universities, and reside permanently at installations across the country.

“My work is the romance of the soul filtered through the rationality of thought,” he said on his website. “Exploring myths and personal experiences through steel. The celebration of the positive.”

His medium was steel and stainless steel, and he focused on forging psychological connections between his sculptures and viewers. He read constantly about myths and legends, and used themes of redemption and the struggling hero to influence many of his pieces.

He wrote about his ideas in detail and created colorful paintings to represent them before building the structures, and he referred often to his text and artwork as he cut and welded and balanced the metal. “The writing is the foundation for everything,” he said in a video tour of his studio.

Beginning in 1981, he had solo exhibitions at the Woodmere Museum, Widener University, James A. Michener Art Museum, Kouros Gallery in New York, and other venues in the region. His current show, Refugees, is on display through Aug. 30 at the Patricia M. Nugent Gallery at Rosemont College in Bryn Mawr.

His work is installed in public spaces around Philadelphia and at the Moore College of Art & Design, Burlington County Hospital, and elsewhere in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Mexico, and across the United States. He gave his work titles such as Diana’s Child, and Philly Walk.

Inquirer art critic Victoria Donohoe reviewed Mr. Mooney’s work often and said his 1990 show at the Larsen Dulman Gallery in New Hope was “inventive in the way he plays with and transforms the sturdy metal shape. … He combines branching organic shapes with it so they soar above the rugged base as if offering an immediate experience of endurance and energy. The result: visually solid yet aspiring to be lyrical.”

In 1981, Donohoe reviewed his show at Beaver College, now Arcadia University, and said: “Joe Mooney’s piece has notable clarity. The work is descriptive, symbolic.” In 2011, she viewed his 17 abstract sculptures at the Berman Museum at Ursinus College and said they were unique examples of “imaginative transformation.”

Mr. Mooney created for the last 20 years despite a stroke, bone marrow transplant, leukemia, and other illnesses. His resilience and optimism during hard times sustained his family, they said, and no one is surprised that one of his favorite works is called Glimmer of Hope.

“He embodied a fierce and abundant creative and philosophical spirit that permeated all facets of his life and the lives of all who met him,” his family said in a tribute. “He relentlessly filled the world with his art, his ideas, and his enduring hope.”

Joseph Edward Mooney Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1949, in Philadelphia. He grew up in Center City and Overbrook, and graduated from the old St. Thomas More High School.

He spent three years in the Navy after high school and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and business at Villanova in 1974. He earned another bachelor’s degree at Penn State in 1978 and a master’s degree at Alfred in 1980.

He met fellow artist Diane Pepe at Penn State, and they married in 1984, and had sons Michael and Brian, and lived in Center City. He doted on his wife, sons, daughter-in-law Silvia, and grandson Aidan.

Mr. Mooney liked to dance, tell jokes, and bake bread for the neighbors. He followed the Eagles and Phillies, and coached his sons’ baseball teams. Year after year, he showed up at all their milestone events.

“He was a light in dark situations,” said his son Brian. His son Michael said: “He was creative and contemplative.”

His wife said: ”He thought deeply about things. He was my light.”

In addition to his wife, sons, grandson, and daughter-in-law, Mr. Mooney is survived by five sisters, one brother, and other relatives. A brother died earlier.

A celebration of his life and the closing reception for his show at the Patricia M. Nugent Gallery is to be from 3 to 6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 24, at Rosemont College, 1400 Montgomery Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010.