Statement
I have been making art in various media for more than 40 years.
In the last 20 years most of my concentration has been in bronze cast sculpture. I still draw, paint and fabricate. I work in my studio foundry that I designed and built behind my home. I have made contemporary art a life-long study. Building my own foundry has also been a long study. It now gives me full control of the process of making my art, and I make a point of sharing my knowledge with anyone involved in the same pursuit
My current work is bronze cast and fabricated sculpture. The castings are unique (one of a kind), and cast from my original wax patterns into sacrificial flasks. This method of finality makes certain that the sculpture has been well thought out and brought to a conclusion that meets my satisfaction and allows me to move on to the next piece. I have far more ideas for sculpture than I will ever be able to complete and would find no joy in making editions.
The search for casting methods that help me achieve the essential effects I’m after and the seductive nature of casting bronze with it’s great history, drama, and mystique is a study in itself that further adds to my work. My art is at it’s best when I’m immersed in the process.
I think of my sculpture as personal anecdotal artifacts. They are illustrations of literature, conversations, events and thoughts. My sculpture is preceded by many drawings and paintings that lead me to create relationships between the objects, symbols and images in a stream of consciousness sort of way; and, which allows them to take on a life of their own. In this way I’m assembling something like a montage; and in a way, I’m playing in the sandbox.
The scale for my work is a compromise of many needs and demands. The scale is that of the particular artifacts of antiquity that I most admire. This scale allows me to complete and manage a maximum amount of work and makes casting the sculpture, with the help of my wife, a practical project. It is a scale that I have worked with all my life, and the translation from my drawings to sculpture comes naturally. I also compare the scale to that of a political cartoon in that there is just enough space to make a point and be able to take in the full idea with one eyeful, but does not limit me from including a great deal of minutiae. I render the objects, symbols, details and surfaces in a comic book style. I like simplified imagery that has been boiled down to an essence because it provides a sharp focus within or in spite of all the detail. Using the sculpture as a code or coda I strive to offer more than enough details and symbolism to allow the viewer to complete the idea and make it their own, leaving the viewer to decipher the parallel images.
There are several formats on which my sculpture is built and the choice of format has to do with the objects, details and desired presentation. One type of format is a tableau. The intent of this style is to create a milieu: the characteristic environment in which an activity or pursuit is carried out and, for me, “the scene of the laboratory, the place where the alchemy happens”. Another form I have recently been using is the “totem”. It is iconic in nature and becomes the raised structure on which I can complete an allegorical study. The format tends to connote a sense of time, order and direction. Using my objects and symbols in this way can illustrate a story or theory within the sculpture. The arrangements are ambiguous enough that they can become personal and poignant to the viewer but not necessarily reflect my original idea. And, in fact, the idea can change for me as well.
The sculpture always begins by working in wax on three or more variations at a time. This method removes the stigma of the work becoming too important, precious, predictable, and unchangeable. It also allows me to explore and make final choices from the finished work. I work on themes until I lose interest but do not move on until I know there is a thread of continuity that will keep my work tied together. I work on my art everyday and am compelled to continue this effort for as long as I am able.