About The Artist
About The Artist
Shoosty (Stephen Shooster, BFA, University of Florida, 1989) is a fine artist and author who recently retired from a mid-cap call center based in South Florida where he was Co-CEO and partner. In charge of technology for 43 years, he enabled his company to scale and serve many of the finest brands in the world including Toyota, Lane Bryant, Zara, Hermès, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, and the Chicago Art Institute. The family company grew from 10 employees to 3,000 before his exit in 2019 before the pandemic.
Recently nominated for the FLCA (Florida Culture Artists Alliance), Shoosty brings a unique perspective that embraces technology and the arts. To balance the intense focus of technology, Shoosty is a prolific artist. Part scientist, part artist, he identified early on an intense desire to shepherd his collection with documentation. In time this turned into a remarkable catalogue raisonné comprising 3 volumes featuring over 1,600 original pieces of art in various media.
Shoosty has recently completed a multi-city tour displaying his scope of themes from The Art of Music and Shoosty Landscapes to his collection of fantastical Shoosty Bugs.
As an Author
Stephen Shooster is also a writer. His work as an author includes The Horse Adjutant, a book about the survival of Leon Schagrin, a victim of the Nazi Holocaust. Shoosty and Schagrin speak on the subject of bullying, hate, and antisemitism. He also wrote The Biography of Herman Shooster, his father. Shooster intends to use these materials to talk to his sources using artificial intelligence. His technical skills are still sharply intact. He studies as he paints with audiobooks and podcasts.
Shoosty® History
Born: Stephen Shooster, 1958, Chester, Pennsylvania
Education
- Cherry Hill East High School (1973-1974)
- Hollywood Hills High School (1975-1976)
- University of Florida (1976-1982)
- BFA, Fine Art with a Minor in Architecture
Advanced Study
- Adobe Suite
- Affinity by Canva
- Canva
- Grok
- Gemini AI
- Shopify
- Wide Format Printing
Career Highlights
- Global Response (1993-2019)
- Global Response 3PL (1985-2020)
- 777 Properties (2004-2024)
- Shooster Publishing (2004-present)
Software Patent: Web call center/PSTN to TCP/IP internet network. US# 6188762 (1997)
Art Shows & Exhibitions
- Old School House Deerfield (2004)
- The Boca Museum, Plein Air Society of Palm Beach (2018)
- Shoosty Bugs, Mills Gallery (2022) - Solo Show
- Shoosty Landscapes, Deerfield Beach Historical Society (2022-2023) - Solo Show
- The Art of Music, Orlando City Arts Center, Orlando (2023)
- Sanford, Art in Chambers (2023)
- UF Innovation Centers, Alachua and Gainesville
- MoAS, The Museum of Arts and Sciences (April 4th, 2025 - March 31st, 2026)
Public Art Installations
- Shark Valley - University of Florida, Reitz Union
- The Art College - University of Florida, College of Art
- Judaica Scarf - University of Florida, Judaica Library
- Hello Friends - University of North Florida, Admissions Office
Media & Interviews
- The Ted Show - Podcast Interview about Shoosty Bugs
- The Ted Show - With Leon Schagrin
- The Nicole Sandler Show - With Leon Schagrin
- Live Interview with Leon Schagrin (96), The Horse Adjutant, Nazi Holocaust Survivor, on January 23rd, 2023 (the day Auschwitz was liberated)
Published Books
- The Horse Adjutant - The Story of Leon Schagrin, Survivor of the Nazi Holocaust
- Dorothy - A Life in Stories
- The Biography of Herman Shooster - The Son of a Tailor who was the Son of a Shoemaker
- Shoosty Catalog Raisonné 1958-2023 3 volumes, The Complete Collection of the Art of Shoosty
- Shoosty Catalog of Paintings
- Shoosty Exhibition Catalog 2019
- Why Graduate? - Ode to the Graduation of Carly Shooster
- Shoosty Bugs Volume 1 - The book that launched a movement 2023
- Shoosty Bugs / An Art Infestation - The show book for MoAS 2025
- The Art of Music - Live Drawing from Concerts and Bars and Jazz Clubs 2022
- Shoosty Landscapes - The Advent of Vector Painting 2022
- Shoosty Bugs Coloring Book - It's Your Turn to Post to #ShoostyBugs
Giving Back
Shoosty is the donor and sponsor of a scholarship for the Arts at the University of Florida. Shoosty supports his wife Diane's non-profit B-Great, supporting young creatives by providing wellness and training.
Shoosty and his wife are the proud parents of four adult children. They are all artists. Three of them are musicians (two professional), one is a Mental Health Therapist with a new album related to mental health, and one is an Art Historian with a degree from Shoosty's alma mater University of Florida who is now a comic artist and graphic designer with a Masters in Sequential Arts.
Subheading
Heading
Shoosty® History
Stephen Shooster, known professionally as Shoosty®, is an American fine artist, luxury designer, author, and technologist born in 1958 in Chester, Pennsylvania. A multi-genre creator, Shooster has maintained a prolific artistic practice spanning over five decades while building a successful career in technology and business. His work encompasses painting, digital art, conceptual pieces, and applied designs, often exploring themes of music, landscapes, insects, and cultural history. Shooster coined the term "Chromatic Fusionism" to describe his signature style, which integrates vibrant color, shape, and technology with influences from nature, travel, tribal cultures, and music.
Early Life and Education
Born the third of four children to Herman and Dorothy Shooster, first-generation Jewish Americans of Ukrainian descent, Shooster grew up in a family environment that valued hard work and creativity. He attended Cherry Hill East High School (1973–1974) and Hollywood Hills High School (1975–1976) before enrolling at the University of Florida (1976–1982), where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) with a minor in Architecture.
Shooster continued self-directed advanced studies in digital tools and programming, mastering software such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Acrobat; Ruby on Rails; relational databases; Maya for 3D modeling and animation; and digital painting techniques. These skills later informed his fusion of traditional art with cutting-edge technology.
Career in Business and Technology
After graduating, Shooster joined his family's small telephone answering service, Ding-a-Ling Answering Service (1976–1985), which evolved into Communications Service Center (1985–1993) and eventually Global Response (1993–2019), a major customer experience management company. As Chief Technologist and co-CEO, he led technological innovations, including a patented web-based call center system integrating PSTN and TCP/IP networks (U.S. Patent No. 6188762, issued 1997). Under family leadership, Global Response grew to serve premium brands worldwide and was sold in 2019.
Parallel ventures included Global Response 3PL (1985–2020) and 777 Properties (2004–2020). Following the sale, Shooster returned full-time to art, founding Shoosty Publishing (2004–present) and expanding the Shoosty® brand.
Artistic Career and Exhibitions
Shooster has painted daily throughout his life, signing works under the nom de guerre "Shoosty®." His public installations include pieces at the University of Florida's Reitz Union, College of Art, and Judaica Library. Notable exhibitions include:
- Old School House, Deerfield (solo, 2004)
- Boca Museum, Plein Air Society of Palm Beach (group, 2018)
- 50-Year Retrospective, Shirley and Barton Weisman Community Center (solo, 2019)
- Shoosty Bugs, Mills Gallery, Orlando (solo, 2022)
- Shoosty Landscapes, Deerfield Beach Historic Society (solo, 2022–2023)
- The Art of Music, Orlando City Arts Center (group, 2023)
- Additional shows: Orlando Airport Fusion Gallery (2024); UF Innovation Center (2025); Sanford City Hall, Art in Chambers (2023)
A major upcoming exhibition, Shoosty Bugs: An Art Infestation, runs at the Museum of Arts and Sciences (MOAS), Daytona Beach, Florida, from April 5, 2025, to January 4, 2026, featuring large-scale silk prints of imaginative insects.
The "Shoosty Bugs" series originated during post-surgery recovery, drawing inspiration from ancient Egyptian scarabs and blending vector graphics with historical patterns. This whimsical collection has become a hallmark, extending into applied art on silk and luxury goods.
The Shoosty® Brand
Following his retirement from business, Shooster expanded Shoosty® into a luxury lifestyle brand applying his artwork to fashion, home goods, and collectibles. Offerings include menswear and womenswear (scarves, clothing, swimwear), Shoosty Living (upholstered furniture such as chairs and sofas, table linens including napkins, placemats, and runners), original paintings, and licensed products. The brand emphasizes "Wear the Art / Become the Movement," positioning itself in the opulent tradition of houses like Hermès and Versace.
Publications and Writing
A prolific author via Shoosty Publishing, Shooster has produced numerous books, including biographies, art catalogs, and thematic works:
- The Horse Adjutant (2011, story of Holocaust survivor Leon Schagrin, with interviews and podcasts on The Ted Show and Nicole Sandler Show)
- Dorothy (biography of his mother)
- Herman Shooster (biography of his father)
- Why Graduate?
- Shoosty Bugs
- The Art of Music
- Shoosty Landscapes
- Shoosty Bugs Coloring Book
- Multi-volume Shoosty Catalog Raisonné (1958–2023, documenting over 2,000 works across periods)
Many books are offered complimentary to collectors, fostering community and accessibility.
Legacy
Shooster's interdisciplinary career bridges art, technology, and storytelling, promoting empathy, creativity, and innovation. His work resides in public and private collections, and he continues to exhibit, publish, and expand the Shoosty® universe, inviting collectors to "live the dream" through art-infused daily life.