Sculptural Bliss

Collector's Focus: Sculpture

By John O’Hern

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1859) lived in Philadelphia from 1838 to 1844. Outside his home there, now a National Historic Site, David Caccia’s black painted bronze sculpture of a raven with an 8-foot wingspan sits atop a 12-foot steel pedestal and casts ominous shadows on the house’s wall. Poe’s masterpiece, “The Raven”, represents “Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance” according to the poet. The raven has been trained to utter only one word, “Nevermore.” The narrator mourns his lost love and is reminded he can never hold onto her. “Nevermore” emphasizes his longing and despair. The last stanza of the poem summarizes the forbidding and forboding of the black bird to the narrator’s study.

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!Exposures International Gallery of Fine Art, The Ancients, bronze ed. 50, 13 x 23 x 7", by John Maisano

The raven appears in literature throughout the ages. In Ovid’s “Metamorphosis” a white crow learns that the lover of Apollo has been unfaithful. Apollo kills his lover and angry with his meddling ways, the God turned the white feathers of that bird to black and then forbade forever more to perch among the favoured birds whose plumes are white.Blue Rain Gallery, Raven and the Box of Daylight, cast glass, 37½ x 8½ x 6¼", by Preston Singletary

Blue Rain Gallery, Blue Steel Cave, cast and cut glass, fused steel, 19¾ x 20½ x 3¼", by Alex BernsteinThe raven is an important part of north American Native creation stories. In the Tlingit story of creation, “Before here was here, Raven was only named Yéil. He was a white bird and the world was in darkness.” Raven learns of an old man who has three treasures in boxes in his clan house. The treasures are the sun, the moon and the stars. Raven is rebuffed by the old man when he asks to see them. Raven then shapeshifts into a hemlock needle which falls into the water cup of the old man’s daughter who swallows it and soon gives birth to a baby boy. The little boy is doted on by his grandfather who responds to the boy’s incessant crying by allowing him to play with the Box of Stars, which he opens and allows the stars to escape through the chimney into the sky. He soon releases the moon from the Box of the Moon. When his mother and grandfather are asleep, he shifts back into his bird form and grabs the sun from the Box of the Sun, and in some versions of the tale, escapes through the chimney and turns black from the soot as he releases the sun into the sky or he is grabbed by his grandfather and in the struggle his feathers are turned black by the clan house fire.David Caccia, The Raven, bronze painted black, wingspan 8’ on 12’ pedestal. Edgar Allan Pоe National Historic Site, Philadelphia, PA. National Park Service; Sorrel Sky Gallery, Christmas Ravens (Raven I E and Raven II E), bronze, by Jim Eppler

Preston Singletary (Tlingit) has interpreted the story of Raven throughout his glassmaking career. Raven and the Box of Daylight is the title of “an immersive, multisensory experience” at the Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. through January 29, 2023.

His glass totem of the same title depicts Raven and the sun at the top, the old man and his daughter in the center and the Box of Daylight at the base.Clockwise from top left: Blue Rain Gallery, Cold Spring, cast and cut glass, fused steel, 15 x 25½ x 5", by Alex Bernstein; Blue Rain Gallery, Light Gold Triptych, cast and cut glass, 19 x 14¼ x 5", by Alex Bernstein; Claggett/Rey Gallery, Swimmer, bronze, (available in multiple sizes) 108 x 36 x 24", by Gail Folwell.

John Maisano depicts the raven in bronze in his sculpture The Ancients. Known for his stylized bronze animal art, he says, “I try to capture the spirit of each animal with clean shapes accented by intricate designs. Some tend toward the whimsical, while others are simply elegant…When I went to the Tower of London I saw my first raven ever! I was so impressed by their size I came home and sculpted one. I feel they have been around for so long…I called them the ancients. Designs are Celtic inspired.”

Jim Eppler captures the playful nature of ravens in two sculptures joined in Christmas Ravens. One of the many pleasures of living in New Mexico has been the experience of intelligent and playful ravens, talking and squawking in the trees around my casita. Another is the perennial question, “Red or Green?” referring to the type of chile you want with your meal.

Eppler has been observing and sketching animals in their natural habitat since he was a boy. His observations and skill result in the sculpture’s realistic frozen movement.Top: Kevin Box Studio and Michael G. LaFosse, Perennial Peace. Atlanta Botanical Garden Photo by Joel Silverman; Kevin Box Studio, Rising Peace. Photo by Joel Silverman; Claggett/Rey Gallery, Tete a Tete, bronze, (available in multiple sizes) 72 x 28 x 28," by Gail Folwell. Bottom row: Kevin Box Studio and Michael G. LaFosse, Seed Sower. Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. Photo by Tom Hennessy; CODA Gallery, Wilbur, aluminum, 67 x 32 x 18", by Giuseppe Palumbo

Continue reading to hear more insights and stories behind inspiring sculptural works by prominent artists and galleries, and enjoy awe-inspiring pieces in a variety of styles and themes.

Alex Bernstein’s cast and carved glass sculptures, shown at Blue Rain Gallery, are a process driven, dynamic combination of luminosity, texture and form. Like a stone sculptor, the artist uses chisels and grinding wheels to remove layers of precious material. Often combining glass and steel, each piece is beautifully balanced. Bernstein is known for fusing steel to the surface of his glass sculptures, a technique he developed himself, and is now widely known in the glass community as “Bernsteining.”

ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN, an outdoor sculpture exhibition created by Box Studios artists Jennifer and Kevin Box, captures the delicate nature of the origami paper art form in museum quality metals. Displayed within beautiful garden settings, there are examples of what can be folded from a single piece of paper such as soaring birds, gliding airplanes, galloping ponies, floating boats and emerging butterflies. The exhibition features Kevin Box’s own compositions as well as collaborations with world-renowned origami artists Tim Armijo, Te Jui Fu, Beth Johnson, Michael G. LaFosse and Robert J. Lang. “Origami represents a simple metaphor: When we begin with a blank page, what we do with it is up to us and the possibilities are endless,” says Kevin Box. Current exhibitions are located at Atlanta Botanical Garden and Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.Jeff Jones, Contemplation, bronze, 16 x 8 x 5"

Gail Folwell, represented by Claggett/Rey Gallery, creates from her toes, through her heart and out her hands—like a lightning strike, she is all in. Her awareness to her surroundings is acute, absorbing the emotions and devotions of the human spirit. Life’s circumstances fire her up and spark the synapses. Learning and exploring new mediums and environments to express her creative energy is a daily mantra for Folwell, and it is evident in her broad panoply of projects. Be it room full of suspended portraits capturing the iconic blowing of a kiss, to the energetic, carved planes of her athlete sculptures, Folwell leads your eye and heart to absorb her message. Claggett/Rey Gallery, The Draft, (available in multiple sizes) 14 x 10 x 14," by Gail Folwell

Victor Issa, The Heart of God, life-size clay for bronze, 39 x 94 x 46"

“For over 20 years, we have had the honor to secure monumental commissions and prominent placements around the country with Folwell,” notes Claggett/Rey Gallery. “To our excitement and that of our clients, we are thrilled to see where her creative lighting will strike next. Come enjoy Gail’s work in person at our gallery in Edwards, Colorado.”

CODA Gallery’s popular artist Giuseppe Palumbo, creates whimsical, anthropomorphic sculptures that delve into the human psyche through irony, wit and humor. Palumbo began his career in building and architecture, and as a natural progression, he merged sculpting into his work in 1992, undertaking studies in the United States, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Rome, Florence and Pietrasanta, Italy. From left: CODA Gallery, One More Time, bronze, 43 x 39 x 18", by Giuseppe Palumbo; CODA Gallery, Safety, enamel coated steel, 79 x 24½ x 18", by Giuseppe Palumbo; Jeff Jones, Coquette, bronze, 24 x 15 x 10"; Somers Randolph, Italian white alabaster on black granite base, 12" tall. Photo credit Wendy McEahern

“My sculptures are diverse, some tapping into mythology and philosophy,” Palumbo explains. “[For instance] Duality, a sculpture of two men balancing on a beam, illustrates our struggle for balance. Other [pieces] may speak as social commentary.” The steel sculpture Safety, pictured in this section, is a monumental safety pin representing a symbol of protection of those who feel marginalized. Palumbo maintains studios in Berkeley, California, and Eldorado Springs, Colorado. His work exists in museums and important private collections around the globe.Somers Randolph, Utah pink cloud alabaster on a black granite base, 10" tall. Photo credit Wendy McEahern; Somers Randolph, Persian onyx, 18" tall. Photo credit Wendy McEahern.

Artist Jeff Jones has spent his adult life working as an aerospace engineer, but as that career sunsets, he’s happily surrendering to his creative impulse to express himself through bronze and ceramic figurative sculpture. “I am a ‘self-teaching’ sculptor, meaning that my art is a continual process of personal growth,” Jones remarks. “Archaeology, history, sociology… the sciences that describe human development fascinate me. I enjoy capturing the spirit and strength of Native people throughout history, especially women. I also love wildlife, because it reminds me of the vastness and awesome power of the natural world. Inspiration for artwork is abundant—a story of an ancient civilization’s customs, a story of a powerful woman impacting her community, a compelling photograph of an endangered animal that needs our protection. My goal is to produce art that tells a story and invites the casual viewer to stop and engage.”Jeff Jones, Unbound, bronze, 17 x 11 x 7"; Stephen Porter, Curve Column 12, stainless steel, 77 x 23 x 16"

The sculpture art of Stephen Porter is based on a formal vocabulary of geometric shapes arranged in ordered configurations that contain the right sense of balance. “Within these arrangements, the size, proportion and material or color of each of the elements combine to form three-dimensional structures that force one to respond to them as purely sculptural ideas—conveying concepts of weight, tension, space and gravity,” the artist explains. Porter’s sculptures, like in Curve Column 12, are not concerned with external subject matter and have no metaphor. “Their subject matter, rather, is their geometry,” he says. “They are concerned with the harmony created by these relationships and are an attempt to create beauty in formal structures.”

For 50 years, Somers Randolph carved a living from solid rock, adding, “Man versus stone is a very physical sport.” Randolph creates one-of-a-kind sculptures from stones found around the world. His sensuous, undulating forms are deceptively simple, resonating on a subconscious level. This can be seen more closely in pieces like the Italian white alabaster on a black granite base, pictured in this section. A tour of his gregarious gentleman’s studio is a highlight of many a visit to Santa Fe. —