Artists Describing Their Art:
Mavis Mcclure - Mavis McClure Born: 1967 Selected Exhibitions: 2004 Chaco Gallery (w/Nathan Oliveria & Peter Voulkos) 2002 Oakland City Gallery (w/Viola Frey), Oakland, CA 2001 Solo Show, LewAllen Contemporary 2000 "From the Fire", Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA "Contemporary Figure", LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe 1999 Solo Show, Jan Baum, Los Angeles, CA "Enduring Form", LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe SOFA Chicago, Sandy Carson, Denver, CO 1998 Solo Show, Virginia Breier, San Francisco, CA "Pedestals & Stretchers", LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM "30 Ceramics", John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA Olive Grove Sculpture Walk, Auberge du Soleil 1997 "Saving Grace", A New Leaf Gallery, Berkeley, CA "30 Ceramics", John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA 1996 "Au Plien Air", A New Leaf Gallery, Berkeley, CA Ceramic Sculpture, Virginia Breier, San Francisco, CA Publications: American Craft San Francisco Chronicle Santa Fe Magazine ArtWeek Albuquerque Journal Contra Costa Times San Jose Mercury News Trend Magazine Interior Design New York Times Collections: Doug Ring, Los Angeles, CA American Museum of Ceramic Art Fourth Street Shopping District, Berkeley, CA CB & Dick Watts, Los Altos, CA Howard & Matilda Rubin, Santa Fe, NM Estate of Jerry Garcia, Mill Valley, CA Mary & John Carrington, Newport Coast, CA Anita Roddick, West Sussex, England Robin & Leonard ...
Polly Plain - "By facing the ugly world, by ranging wide enough in afar and above and below-in nature or in one's fellows or in one self one can find beauty-one can even create beauty" Haveloc Ellis "Individual Not Ideal" explores my interest in the value of the less than perfect individual whose features do not meet the American Contemporary standard ideals of beauty. Contrary to the idea of beauty created through plastic surgery, these figures express the natural beauty of real life experiences. My aim is to show the depth of the life experience, lines in the face, and sagging skin, to honor the beauty that I see in the faces of the unique individual. To gain insight to express the individual's life experiences I look past the physical body and learn about their life they have traveled so far. I then express the individual's life experiences in their faces and body language. Polly A Plain 3/06 ...
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 ...
Bruce Naigles - From a philosophical standpoint, all that we perceive in the world of form is an outer expression of an inner dynamic. Though my work is predominantly figurative, I find it to be the art of giving form to the formless; ideas, emotions, relationships, events. These are by their very nature intangible and essentially abstract, though they continually alter and effect our physical reality. We read them through our intuitive understanding of body language, much as snow blown about on a winter's day reveals the invisible movement and form of the wind. To 'clothe' these subliminal qualities in human figures and bring them forth in a sculpture, whether it be a simple figure inspired by a model's beauty or an allegory of our human condition, is the basic goal and driving force in my work. ...
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. ...
Stephanie Amos - ABSTRACTION IS AN ART ALL IN ITS OWN. NOT TO BE UNDERSTOOD BUT APPRECIATED. FOR ME IT COMES FROM DEEP DOWN, FROM THE HEART AND SOUL. IT IS MY WAY OF EXPRESSING MY EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS. THE BRUSH IS MY VOICE. THE PAINT ARE MY WORDS. COLOR, DEPTH, SPACE, COMPOSITION-THEY JUST APPEAR.~SAMOS I spent most of my secondary education in the art room. Any spare time that I had I was drawing, painting, or sculpting. Not much has changed over the years. After high school I went off to college. Gave it a shot and decided it wasn't for me. So I took off for the Bering Sea to become a commercial fisherman. I fished for about five years. After a knee injury I decided I was ready for school again. This time I knew what I wanted to do. Study art. I wanted to know everything there was to know. And so began the rebirth of my art. I work in three different mediums. I paint original abstract paintings on canvas using a brush and palette knife. I work mostly in oils, but am branching out with acrylics and mixed medias. I also create abstract figurative ...
Chris Johnson - I have not chosen art, the painting and sculpture. It is a task, a responsibility if you will, given me by the Creator from birth. As a small child removed from home and family, speaking no English and placed in foster care in Toronto, drawing was often my primary means of communication. The elders of my people, whom I met for the first time a few years ago, tell me that even as a toddler, I drew. I am, they say, what the Anishinabe call a Dreamer. I learned much about sculptural products while creating the bas reliefed murals in Sidney and Victoria, British Columbia, starting with resin and expanding foam, moving to structural foam and fibreglass, then acrylic stucco, and eventually to a major sculpture that utilized all of these as well as a few other new materials. My study of various materials and methods has resulted in some ground-breaking work. The bas reliefed murals in Sidney were the first of their kind, and have had artists from all over the continent contacting my studio to find out how they were done. I believe that as an artist, to be an artist, is to continue to learn, explore, ...
Bozena Happach - My sculptures illustrate the complexity and beauty of human form in two and three-dimensional compositions. I intend to demonstrate the depth as well as the foibles of the human endeavor, along the journey of both physical and spiritual evolution. ...
Penko Platikanov - Sculpture is an act of creating art, and a philosophy on living. It is my belief that my artwork follows some means of a universal law I call "Creation and Beauty." Stated simply, there is no doubt a responsibility inherent toward created forms. It's quality, it's energy, and the messages released through my actions are expressions that I work toward being aware of. This is the first thing I concern myself with before I step into my studio and stand before the set block of clay on any given day. A quality sculpture has to be a product of spiritual, mental and technical abilities. Great works of art should possess deep roots in human spirituality, as well as depth regarding thought and feeling. Artwork can appear as fleeting inspirations or a belabored process based on the experience of the artist. In turn, if an artwork is created with the intention of lasting decades and being viewed for many generations, it has to be technologically strong and skillfully made. Important thought is the search for quality. Quality, which is proportional to the amount of effort, must be made to the best of the artist's ability. The Ancient Greeks ...
Ahki Bui - My inspiration created the source of art tradition .The same sculpture of communal house in the village,sculpture of Buddhism and line of drawing genius antique.I want to show event fell of modern sculpture.There are a certain number of philosophy profound cuture traditional.All the to harmonize in the artwork... ...