Artists Describing Their Art:
Ali Gallo - Uncovering and bringing to the surface what boils beneath creates the tension necessary for a dialog to begin between the idea and the artist and/or the art and the viewer. Finding anyway to create this tension, gouging, scratching, laying, etc in a painting or sculpture allows for deeper inspection, providing the incredible power of metaphor for the human condition....
Gregory Liffick - I like to find new life in old, found items. I perform a kind of plastic or reconstructive surgery on the materials that I find in thrift stores and other like places, refinishing and refreshing their skin with spray enamel or acrylic paint and reforming and improving their shapes with bits and pieces from elsewhere. In the process of reimaging the items, I resurrect them from the past and bring them into the present, making them current and relevant through the concepts and messages I attach to them, commentaries on the state of things in the world today. I give new purpose and interest to items that have lost their place in the onrush of use and fashion. I take once upon a time materials and try to make them timeless....
Sylvia Volpi - PHILOSOPHY: To be an artist is to be creative, autonomous, conscious, bold... It is to dare and allow yourself the delirium, reach the imaginary, the fantasy, the pleasure, the beauty ... To wish for the real and to wish for the impossible. It's to open wide, through your work, desires, fights and sorrows in a disclosure. The creative process is the product of the hand , the mind, the imagination and of the work, which is motivated by the search for a conquer: THE CONSTRUCTION OF YOUR OWN SELF. ...
John Searles - John Searles is a metal artist & sculptor with work in more than 2000 collections across the country, including hotels, businesses and homes. His experience includes working with aluminum, copper, bronze, steel and stainless steel. His body of work includes sculptures, metal weavings, metal art tiles, wall sculptures, photography, paintings and websites. The metal wall sculptures of John Searles reflect his enduring interests in mathematical patterns, design, movement, energy and freedom and are an expression of his on-going dialogue with the metals he works with - aluminum, steel, stainless steel, copper and bronze. John Searles' background in poetry, painting and photography has heavily influenced his focus on shape and design. At times his artwork appears to depict the fluid movements of a Kung Fu master, or the flight patterns of a bird catching insects in the summer evening air. Other times, the metal represents dancers intertwined. John Searles lives and works in a converted 5600 square foot factory on three acres of land near Lake Michigan. The front third of the building is a light-filled gallery. The back part is a tool- and work table-filled space with two garage doors and a view out over the property to the ...
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. ...
Don Dougan - My work comprises both abstracted and figurative imagery executed in a variety of mixed materials, with stone being the predominate medium. Other materials used (usually in conjunction with stone) include foundry cast metals, carved and joined wood, cast and fabricated plastics, cold-worked and kiln-formed glass, cast and carved hydraulic cements, cast/formed paper, welded/fabricated metals, gilding, and found/assembled objects. The more abstracted imagery is worked in pedestal pieces, large freestanding sculptures, and in wall-mounted relief sculptures. The figurative lip series is usually presented in wall-mounted reliefs, deep shadowbox framing, and occasionally as either a pedestal piece or a large freestanding work. The most recently begun series of work comprises pedestal-sized pieces using the imagery of the ship or the boat hull. Each series or each type of work allows me to express aspects of the human condition - the more abstracted works tend to reveal a more universal emotional/rational characterization of subject matter, the lip series tends to allow sensuality, humor, and more visceral expressions, while the ship series delves into personal/cultural memories and emotional journeys. For more images and information on myself, my work, and my working methods please visit my ...
Sal Villano - The inspiration for creating my sculpture grew from a lifetime love of trees. I am in awe of the stately presence and silent majesty they posses. I find the structure of trees to be one of the perfections in nature. With their roots embracing the earth; in winter they show their bones, in spring gentle buds, in summer a canopy of green and in fall a magical kaleidoscope of colors. Beauty, pure beauty. ...
Avner Levinson - www.avnerlevinson.com I am currently working with plaster on abstract forms that are inspired by existentialist themes. These works lend themselves to figurative interpretations, sometimes reminding the viewer of landscapes, animals and other forms. ...
Ivica Vukadin - Ivica Vukadin was born on the 28th of September 1955 in Zagreb. After education he went to Germany and then to Holland, where he decided to become a sailor on transatlantic ship. He sailed around Africa, Asia and Europe, where he got to know different cultures which influenced his art. He has been painting, designing wooden jewellery and lamps for years but during the last 10 years he has been intensively sculpting. He is using a rare technique of thermal metalworking combined with fine chiseling. Croatian olive tree is his favourite material when working in wood. ...