Location: United States
Archetypes...Myths...Rituals. I have long been intrigued and fascinated by these concepts. In my sculptures, both figurative and abstract, I employ these aspects of a collective unconscious to evoke an emotional state within the viewer.
In my figurative work, my goal is to capture the myriad changing state of the human condition through subtle changes in facial countenance and body language. The end result shows how the inner condition is expressed by the outward form while also conveying a sense of this expression transcending both time and history. In my abstract sculptures, I have recreated the numinous quality of subconsciously shared images, stories, and ceremonial rites. The sculptures, themselves, are composed of abstract forms that are covered with a rich, textural surface. The end result is a complex organic piece that evokes a sense of ancient artifacts, of ritualistic objects from some unknown culture, or of imagined landscapes.
However, be it figurative or abstract, my ultimate goal is to have the viewer feel a sense of familiarity with the work...a sense of having experienced this before. I believe this feeling of déjà vu arises from both the collective unconscious and a mystical center we all share.
I have always been intrigued by how our emotional nature is expressed in our facial countenance and our body language. My desire was to capture this myriad changing state of the human condition in my art. The work itself is not based upon models, photographs, or any actual persons. Rather, I sculpt from memory and from my own emotional state at the time of creation. Some of these sculptures express a calm, almost beatific, state. Others, displaying extreme disturbance and anguish, are clearly at the opposite end of the spectrum. All of this work has been executed in clay. Molds have been made of many of the pieces so they are available in either cast stone or bronze. The cast stone pieces are covered with a bronze coating that is finished so it is indistinguishable from a bronze casting. In either case, the final work has the look and feel of a traditional bronze sculpture, but with a modern sensibility. The goal of my figurative work is to both show how the inner condition is expressed by the outward form and to convey that this expression transcends time and history.
"Ariadne" is a full figured, pregnant woman posing with one hand supporting her swelling belly. While her body and pose suggest a powerful woman who is in control of herself and her destiny, her face registers a beatific look of contentment. She is ceramic with a bronze coating that has a blue patina. She stands on a base of Mariposa slate.
“Falling Woman of Versailles” has a gilding similar to the fountain statuary of Versailles. However, unlike those reclining, sensuous, and carefree women, she is falling through space with a terrified expression on her face.
“Anguished Man with Broken Nose”
"Anguished Man with Broken Nose"...the title says it all. This ceramic piece is covered with a bronze coating that has a patina applied to it. It rests on a base of highly polished white cement.
“Silence” depicts a somber man whose mouth is covered by a strip of cloth. He represents the ways in which all of us are silenced in one form or another...by our own personalities, by society, by the desired perceptions of others, and on, and on... He is ceramic with a bronze coating and gold leaf. He rests on a base of highly polished white cement.
Archetypes...Myths...Rituals. For as long as I can remember, I have been intrigued and fascinated by the evocative nature of these concepts. In this series, I have recreated the numinous quality of subconsciously shared images, stories, and ceremonial rites. The sculptures, themselves, are composed of abstract forms that are covered with a rich, textural surface. The end result is a complex organic piece that evokes a sense of ancient artifacts or ritualistic objects from some unknown culture. My goal is to have the viewer feel a sense of familiarity with the piece...a sense of having experienced this before. I believe this feeling of déjà vu arises from both the collective unconscious and a mystical center we all share.
In its death throe, a sun burns out over a decaying world. Yet, a small green organic form gives hope for renewal and continued survival. The main body of the sculpture is of highly polished cement coated with an acid stain and waxed to a deep luster. Bronze leaf, copper, and wood constitute the other materials used.
"Seed Pod" is an abstract sculpture representing seeds flowing from an otherworldly pod. It is a symbol of life and creativity. The "pod" is formed of painted plaster coated with bronze leaf. The "seeds" are river rocks with a strip of copper foil. Copper and wood constitute the other materials used.
An ancient offering from a former world shows the ravages of time and the scars of fire. The sacredness of the offering is now a curiosity. The offering is made of acid stained cement covered in copper foil. It stands on legs of copper. A rock and an oak base complete the materials list.
This series contains a variety of landscapes composed of abstract forms covered with a rich, textural surface. These abstractions are often combined with natural materials and branches that I’ve pruned from my many fruit trees. The end result is a complex organic piece evoking an imagined scene from a natural world that is unknown to us. My goal is to have the viewer feel a sense of familiarity with the piece...a belonging. I believe this feeling of déjà vu arises from both the collective unconscious and a mystical center we all share.
A sun of copper settles casts its last rays over a desolate forest of Japanese maples crossed by a solitary stream.
A dark and ominous appearing rock is split by a tree to revel it's golden interior. The piece is composed of a Japanese maple branch and natural stone covered in sections with bronze leaf.
Battered by a forceful wind coming from a golden sea, two trees loom over a small hillock. The trees are Japanese maple, the island and base are made of acid-stained cement, and the landscape is Mariposa slate with a section covered in bronze leaf.
“Ariadne”
“Falling Woman of Versailles”
“Silence”
“Burning Sun”
“Seed Pod”
“Burnt Offering”
“Sunset”
“Split Rock”
“Windswept”
