Artists Describing Their Art:

Christophe Charbonnel - Born in 1967, Christophe Charbonnel was a designer at Walt Disney Studios in France. Taught by Philippe SeenA(c) at the DuperrA(c) School in the'90s, Christophe Charbonnel created his first bronze in 1992. He has exhibited his work publicly since 1998, mostly in Paris, but also in Saint Tropez, Cannes, Strasbourg and Lille in France; and also in Anvers and LiA"ge in Belgium, among many other cities. Thanks to his exhibits at Le Ritz Palace in Paris and The Four Seasons Palace in Cannes, Christophe Charbonnel has become ever more acclaimed in France, and recently he became LAUREAT of the Taylor Foundation. Christophe Charbonnel is one of the most popular artists in France and his works are a good investment. His renown is beginning to spread outside of Europe and an illustrious future is expected for him....

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 ...

Heinrich Filter - Dear Friends of African wildlife, Taking inspiration from the bush and my previous experience as a safari guide my creations strive to capture the essence and beauty of the animals I sculpt. A completely self-taught artist, my expertise ranges from figurative, wildlife, bird, abstract to African works. Each piece is exclusively sculpted, chased and finished by myself and available in either solid Sterling silver or bronze and in any size - from coffee table pieces to life-size sculpture. For every purchase a donation is made to a conservation organisation of your choice. Warm regards from the southern hemisphere Heinrich Filter ...

Plamen Yordanov - I share the idea of an art that creates reality instead of offering its conventional model. I want to provoke the birth of view that go beyond the boundary of reality itself. These viewpoints stress an order that exist "a priory" in nature and can be developed again and again. This aspect makes the picture exist as a signal that gives the onlooker a chance to go deep into his/her life experience and mind. This is a universal signal to which the individual responds in un unique manner and creates his/her own reality. ...

Daniel Lombardo - My art is first informed by the human figure, its essential vertical presentation with a focus on unique but related frontal and rear views, and the gestalt of interconnected shapes that are both linear and volumetric. It is secondarily informed by totem poles of the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest and other tribal cultures from around the world, with their stacked and interconnected elements that may represent key figures or concepts in their myths and legends, combined to "tell a tale" or remind of basic cultural tenets. Though my sculptures do not represent any specific events, I imagine my pieces as abstract tales both of personal events or generally themes of human experience. The pieces develop from gestural sketches based on this visual language of interconnected forms merging and diverging usually along a vertical axis. Most recently I have worked in forged steel which has fostered new gestural elements that this material inspires. ...

Fernando Andrea - Biography Fernando Andrea was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1961 and received his early education at the religious school of "Hermanos Menesianos" in the same city. In the 80's he was trained as a merchant navy officer, serving for a year. Fernando is the third of four brothers. Fascinated with art in general and small figures in particular, he produced his first sculpture being sixteen years old, following the steps of his elder brother with whom he shared a passion for art. Introduced very young in the world of arts, he has been working and studying in a multitude of workshops, where his talent and experience as a sculptor has been forged. He is well known since 1983 as one of the foremost designer s of small size sculptures and highly praised by connoisseurs and collectors. Fernando is also an accomplished musician and an excellent drawer. As a master artist at the Andrea studios, he has met many famous sculptors as Sergio Blanco, Juan Munoz , Eva Riquelme an others ; involved all over the years in different sculpting projects. His outstanding work benefits from his deep historical knowledge, derived from many years of dedicated reading and investigation so as an...

Don Smalley - This man does not use the spoken language as a medium for communication. His world, his word, his art and his mind are expressed in the body of stones. Years ago he heard the Buddhist phrase "Only don't know!" These words, which in Buddhism might be called a turning phrase, point to the awakening of the non-conceptual mind. This state of mind seems to have opened within Don a state of truth and spontaneity- without formal teachings in Buddhism or any other spiritual discipline. He does not want the conceptual mind interfering with the creative process, or with the mysterious ground of direct understanding that informs his sculpture. Each moment, each work can thus be approached with an open and clear mind. Don does not want his work and his experience to be characterized by language, yet in direct conversation with that which is immediately before him. He enters into a dialogue with stone. Don quietly speaks of times of struggle, and grants that these times have given him determination and strength, turning him towards his own interior consciousness. His ease with solitude and his sense of self-sufficiency have fostered in him an atmosphere of stillness and ...