Artists Describing Their Art:
Gabor Bertalan - CURRICULUM VITAE I WAS BORN IN SALGOTARJAN, HUNGARY IN 1956. I ATTENDED SCHOOL IN BUDAPEST. I LEARNED SCULPTURAL ARTS THROUGH PRIVATE CHANNELS, PARTLY IN HUNGARY UNDER THE DIRECTIONS AND WITH THE HELP OF ATTILA BOBALY AND JOZSEF SOMOGYI, AND PARTLY IN MENTON, FRANCE. IN 1996 I ATTENDED THE SUMMER ART ACADEMY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS IN BUDAPEST. I HAD INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITIONS IN THE MADACH GALLERY OF SALGOTARJAN IN 1993, IN THE SERBIAN CHURCH OF BALASSAGYARMAT IN 1997, AND IN THE UJPEST GALLERY IN 2004. GROUP EXHIBITIONS: 1993: SZECSENY 1995: BUDAPEST, MENTON 1996: BALASSAGYARMAT, SALGOTARJAN, NAGYATAD 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005: SALGOTARJAN - SPRING EXHIBITION, OPEN-AIR SCULPTURE EXHIBITION 2000: CANNES 2005: NAGYATAD, NATIONAL EXHIBITION OF WOOD SCULPTURES SZECSENY, WINTER EXHIBITION - PRIZE OF THE TOWN OF SALGOTARJAN CURRENTLY I LIVE AND WORK IN BUDAPEST. INITIALLY I WORKED EXCLUSIVELY WITH WOOD. NOW THE MATERIAL OF MY SCULPTURES IS MAINLY WAX AND BRONZE CAST AFTER A WAX MOULD. MY THOUGHTS, FEELINGS AND THE PLASTIC FORMS GUIDED BY THE FORMER ARE FOCUSED ON TWO MAIN CONCEPTS: "NATURALNESS AND SIMPLICITY" ...
Ivan Kosta - My mission? To give some resemblance of our lives, to touch our fears,concerns, evoke dreams and give hope in time of dispair... ...
Robert Pulley - A friend told me recently that it was helpul for her to know how an art work is created and how the artist thinks. That led me to consider what I have to say about my art work. When one looks at my sculpture I hope one sees strength, mystery, sensuousness, spiritual energy and more. How these constructions in modeled clay can stir such responsed in myself and others is a mystery to me, but I can say something about my methods and way of thinking. I have always been intuitive, reactive and spontaneous. I love improvisation, expression and the power of chance and serendipity. This may not seem obvious in large pieces that must be carefully crafted over weeks or months. Here is how it works. When I began the first pieces in this body of work many years ago they were purely improvisational. I would begin each piece with a flat slab of clay that I cut into a shape that would be the bottom of the sculpture. I usually had a vague idea of the proportions I wanted. This general notion set the theme within which I worked. In the manner of free jazz I would consider ...
Mark Dedrie - Mark Dedrie, an artist in motion by Robin d'Arcy Shillcock The first things you notice when confronted by work of Belgian sculptor Mark Dedrie (1962) are the stylized shapes and their highly polished finish. Although working within the tradition in which colour is omitted in favour of form, his approach is not so much classical an literal as turning a refined distillation of visual reality into a sculptural statement. He transforms a world of colour and movement into a world of presences, of volumes and elegant lines, and manages weightlessness in heavy bronze. This results in tactile, visually attractive sculptures. There aren't too many sculptors who know how to stylize animal shapes well, and even fewer that seek the degree of refinement Dedrie is striving for. It results in soft and sensual surfaces that underline the exquisite grace of birds like ducks and long-legged waders. There are honestly merely a few I can name. Francois Pompon (France 1855-1933) worked on Rodin's marble sculptures before becoming one of the greatest animal sculptors of the modern era. His work instigated what I call the Movement of Form, comprising the sculptors who preferred to distance themselves from ...
Jack Hill - All of my sculptural work is bronze, cast in the "lost wax" technique. Besides sculpting the original work, I am hands on with all the phases of the casting process, including the molds, waxes, metal, and application of the patinas. My foundry experience allows me to ensure the quality and integrity of each idea, from inspiration to final presentation. The ideas are born from observation of the human existence, in all its splendor and absurdity. The addition of my own whimsy and uncommon approach brings about an expression of life in the permanence of bronze. People are only one part of the whole planet and my anthropomorphic works are an exploration of the blending of man into various parts of the environment. With attention to anatomic detail and a tongue-in-cheek twist I wish to stimulate the imagination and, maybe, tickle the funny bone. Questions? Call me at 305/240-3238 A new line of work has been added that I call "Body Armor". The human form is treated as if skin was an armor that could be put on or removed as needed. If it had been lost long ago and recently rediscovered, what would it look like. ...
Ione Citrin - Ione is an avant garde artist whose artistic expression takes fantastic shape through her diverse oil and watercolor paintings, bronze sculptures, found object collages and mixed media assemblages. Her paintings and sculptures range from abstract to realistic to impressionistic - all visionary interpretations from her imaginative soul. "When I paint, I dip my brush in my soul... Being an Artist is a life force, not a career choice. Each piece represents a fragment of my life's work. I present the world artistically as I see it, as I wish to see it, and occasionally as I once saw it. You see, It is my identity. Without this expression of self, I am nothing. Through my art I give love." Ione uses only one name but a variety of styles to soothe her wild imagination. A native of Chicago, she is a former television star and commercial voice-over artist. Now she wins awards and sells her creativity through her hands instead of through her larynx. Her art is as original as she is - bold, colorful and highly decorative....
Zoja Trofimiuk - Artisti?1/2s Statement My Art is my Statement. Volume and Space are concepts that have influenced my art. I am particularly fascinated by their appearance in the human body. I am interested in exploring dialogue both internal dialogue, which exists within oneself, and external connection that moves between two people or objects. My art explores i?1/2contradictionsi?1/2 which are attracted to each other and create a new whole. The human figure appeals to me as an adequate form for expressing these ideas. Working with glass has given me the opportunity to stretch the boundaries of these concepts to new limits, as well as offering me the joyful experience of playing with colour. I would like to concentrate my attention on capturing absence, an impression, commemorate memory, fleeing presence, give physical form to a spiritual value. The absence transferred into visual terms, long after it ceased to exist. In both instances, when working with bronze or glass, I apply a casting technique called i?1/2Lost Waxi?1/2. ...
Michael Tieman - As Michael Tieman sees it, "The role of an artist from the dawn of time has been as a visual storyteller. The stories my paintings and sculpture tell are ones of confidence, strength, passion, playful sophistication and the celebration of life." "I create my bronze sculpture as a three dimensional painting, texture becomes the Impressionistic impasto brushstroke, color is the play of light and shadows across the surfaces, and detail is the impression of movement." ...