sculpture – Page 2 – Circle Foundation for the Arts

Saba Besier

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“I am a Pakistani-born, American artist and hold an MFA from Pratt Institute in New York. I am currently based in Dallas, Texas and have been an exhibiting artist for 25 years; showing my work both nationally and internationally.

My sculptural formations are both a celebration of oceanic organisms as well as an acknowledgment of the ecological trauma that is disrupting ecosystems as they disappear. Because of climate change, the ocean as a system is at risk, struggling to keep pace with human-caused conditions. The sculptural forms intermingle what could exist through caustic mutation or evolve on other planets, colonized if we deplete our own resources. These science-fiction-like growths combine plant, mineral, metal and human representations depicting the existence of other-worldly creatures, beauty molting out of hardened places.

In a way, this fantastical fluid transformation out of rigid materials symbolizes my own story. I found porcelain to be my primary medium due to its luminous characteristic, adding an element of hope to the despondency of my subject. I subscribe to the Bauhaus sensibility of combining intense relationship with the process of craft and Fine Art. Each work draws on a hard-earned expertise in the techniques of slab building, throwing, hand sculpting, metallurgy and alchemy. Mystical tension culminates from the unlikely organic mix of media combined with a nonconventional merging of artistries and a sense of movement constantly envisioned from years of professional video development.

Methods used in other cultures and eras meld with the discipline of formal art training. All of which conspire to bring these aquatic sculptures to life. I have chosen to maintain the inherent ivory coloration of porcelain in the forms to echo the bleaching that is happening to many sea organisms, and at times accompanied by black to signify the disruption they face.”

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Derek Morris

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Derek Morris was born in 1940 in Birmingham, England, and grew up in an intensely creative family. His father was a craftsman/sculptor, his mother an embroiderer and his sister a silversmith turned jeweler. Derek studied Fine Art at Newcastle upon Tyne University where Victor Pasmore and Richard Hamilton taught the Basic Course which inspired a number of students to later become abstract artists. He graduated in 1963 with a First Class Honours Degree in Fine Art. Later, he became a member of staff there for two years and then moved to Norwich, England to take up a post at the Art School.

Derek Morris developed a Degree level Course at Norwich Art School and it became a first-choice college during the 70s and 80s. In the late 80s, he set up a ceramics facility for the sculpture school which inspired him to work in Ceramics for ten years.

"My sculptural language was developed strongly during these years, and I retired from teaching in 1990 in order to pursue my career as a sculptor."

In 1999, Morris became President of the Royal Society of Sculptors, a prestigious body founded in 1904 and based in Kensington, London. He was in post for five years and considerably modernized the Society, encouraging younger members to join. He remains a member and has been actively engaged until the present.

Morris has also been active in the art community in Norwich and is currently a Trustee of the Norfolk Contemporary Art Society which promotes new art and artists in the region. He has worked steadily through these years and exhibited in London and East Anglia.

"I remain deeply enthusiastic about both sculpture and painting and gain sustenance from both in these troubled times."

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Ken Jones

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Robert E Gigliotti

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American artist, Robert E. Gigliotti was born in Utah in 1947. He went to parochial school where the only path was college prep. In 1965 he headed off to the University of San Francisco for undergraduate studies and earned a degree in sociology.

"What do you do with a degree in sociology? You go to graduate school." So Robert went on to the University of Victoria to work on a Master's degree. Deep inside he “knew” that he wanted to create but didn’t know what or how. Somehow he latched onto photography and decided to quit grad school in favor of art school.

He went to Oregon State University to study photography and, with great trepidation, took a bronze sculpture class as an elective. Robert fell in love with it. He had found his path to creativity. The following year Robert transferred to the University of Oregon where, in 1976, he earned a Master's degree in art education. Robert has been sculpting ever since and loves to create figurative bronzes with symbolic twists and turns. His art derives a lot of inspiration from mythology and various spiritual paths. He refers to some of his newest work as “visual koan” from Zen practice.

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IHARA

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Japanese sculptor, IHARA was born in 1943 and has been awarded at the Nika exhibit (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) every year between 1967-74. In 1976 he became an Honorary Member of Japan Flower Arrangement Foundation. In 1986 he built a sculpture at Misawa Gate Riverside Park in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture and in 1989 3 of his sculptures were built on the main street of Kagawa Bridge station in Hyogo ken. Ihara’s has been commissioned numerous public sculptures in Japan as well as in the USA where he has exhibited many times and received awards.

1957 Former professor of Tenpo Misho-ryukado
School（Japanese traditional art）
1967-74 He is awarded the Nika exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) every year.
1973 (The Imperial Highness Princess Takamatsu of the Imperial Family) Appointed as a special member of the Japan Ikebana Art Association
1980 Jodo Buddhism Seizan Zenrinji Buddhism Academy（Obtained
qualifications as a solemn teacher, a cloth teacher and a cultural member）
1967-74 He is awarded the Nika exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) every year.
1972 Hyogo Prefectural Contemporary Art Museum Award Winner Awarded Tokyo Art Museum Special Award.
1973 Japan Flower Arrangement Special Member .　
1989 Three sculptures were built on the main street of Kagawa Bridge station in Hyogo ken.
1991 I built a sculpture of Sho-en Sculpture Center 10 in San Diego, California.
1992 The artwork was nominated for the exhibition and won the French Maubeugeu City Art Contest.
1995 Lithuania World Sculpture Symposium. One of the sculptures exhibited permanently at the European Central Art Museum in Lithuania.
1996 I built a sculpture in Nakao Park in Akashi City Hyogo Prefecture.
1998 I built three sculptures (permanent collection) in the Skokie North Shore Sculpture Park in Chicago. the year of 2000
2001 Traveling Exhibition II "Tree of Origin" at the entrance of Center for horticulture in Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture.
Exhibition at Takashimaya Kyoto department store in Kyoto.
Traveling Exhibition "Tree of Origin" at the entrance of Osaka Museum of History, and Japan Broadcasting Cooperation, Osaka station (NHK) in Osaka.
2005 Erected 12 Sculptures of Soul Object in Okura Akashi Coast in Hyogo Prefecture.
2006 Erected a Sculpture in Kakogawa Kanno Park in Hyogo Prefecture.
2007 I built sculptures at Himeji Awa Park in Hyogo Prefecture .
2019 Moku-Renma(kigumi)was selected for an Honorable Mention Award.

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Harald Weber

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German artist, Harald Weber received professional training in metal and wood processing (1975-82), was engaged with photography, and studied interior architecture (1986-91) with a focus on design, illustration methods, illustration, painting, and architectural photography.

Weber worked freelance as a digital and photo artist, draftsman, illustrator, interior designer, designer (1992-2012) and has been working as an independent artist since 2011. Today he lives and works in Neu-Anspach, Germany.

Patina Assamblagen - The protective layer to counter the transitory

"Some things protect themselves like plants plant their fruits with a layer of skin (onion) or tree bark. Even metals get a protective layer of rust and patina. The aesthetics of the resulting colors, textures and structures of the surfaces inspire me to create my patina assemblages.

For the composition, I take found formal aesthetics from the everyday. The nice feeling of discovering pleasing forms in the seemingly worthless (throw-away items, etc.), exploring a possible artistic use in advance.

The line plays an original role in this. It consists of an infinite number of points, divides and delimits surfaces and shapes as a simple element. The resulting structural architecture has to be studied, recorded and integrated into the composition.

Trusting in revealing a natural canon of forms and choosing exciting sections with my inner eye, I draw, paint, create and clock my assemblages with everything that is available to me artistically.

Why patina assemblages?

"Not everything we throw away is useless, not everything we consider worth is valuable. With artistic means and aesthetics, I create attention and awareness for the apparently self-evident things of our life. Especially used or used - if only one thing - can tell us a lot about it itself or the people who breathed life into it, used it. Resources are not available indefinitely. We draw a lot from nature, use and transform it, create new products that we can only."

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Helga Palasser

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Helga Palasser is a trained sculptor from Austria who gained her diverse working experience especially by traveling to different places around the world like California, Nepal, Zimbabwe, and several European countries. One of her specialties is modelling portraits out of clay giving them a unique liveliness and familiarity that goes far beyond mere depiction. Besides this realistic approach, a strong impetus towards abstract forms characterizes her work although there is always a concrete experience in which these forms are grounded. In her recent work, Palasser focusses on the subject of interculturality and connects the process of artistic production with intercultural exchange. Her latest work in this respect was exhibited at Venice ART Biennale “Personal Structures” 2019.

Helga’s work is characterized by figurative motifs as well as abstract forms. The heavy compact material of clay is transformed into light fine shapes that could occasionally give the impression of drawings when looked at from the distance. When looked at closer, the corporal aspect of weight imposes itself without diminishing the lightness of the forms, however.

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JIYOUNG KIM

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What themes does your work involve?

I compared the completeness of the day and the period to a puzzle using formative elements. I expressed the psychological comfort and relief that I feel on my way home from my busy life and abstract and structured formative constructs. I tried to make a completed structure as one piece of peace was compared to my ‘day’ and my shape was matched like a puzzle and this gathered. Different shapes and sizes showed that each day is always different and new. After the primary tapestry work, the tapestry of the architectural structure was completed by adding 3 dimensional and linear elements using the off-loom coiling technique. It showed design and structural forms by giving different heights and three-dimensionality of all the different color planes due to the volume and texture of the thread.

Describe your creative process.

In 'Piece Together,' we produced a result that can go beyond a flat work through basic molding elements such as lines and faces to three dimensions. By substituting various colors and expressing the contrast between colors, we created an idea sketch to show the color and a texture sample to show the three-dimensional effect, and specifically composed the details of the work. The motif of the night view taken on the way home is expressed in various colors and abstract forms. In order to record these moments as a work, abstract work was performed using geometric shapes after photographing. I think that the planning and sampling I made before entering the work are also important processes, and it is the beginning of the work from this moment.

What influences your work? What inspires you? Why do you make art?

It’s hard to deny that the difficult part of making artwork is to aim at an in-depth approach and analyze ‘The relationship between Textile’s Formativeness and Intention of the Expression’ based on research and experiment of multilateral material rather than focusing only on technique. Analyzing the ‘Diverse possibility of material expression’ and ‘What can be the most efficient way to express intended meaning in pieces’ in terms of diverse perspectives is becoming the new paradigm. It’s never easy to make artwork, but if the plans for my art progress following my own extent, it is relatively convenient to make the outgrowth. And I think the ultimate output when I finish my artwork is feeling the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction particularly based on ‘Agony' and 'Attempt'.

What is good art? What makes a piece of art great?

Recently, the tendency of art is mixed genres and ambiguous division. Following ‘Post-modernism’, the current art field is denying standardized and rigid structure, and trying to reach new styles different from the old paradigm. Moreover, attempts to ‘Decategorization’ and ‘Getting out from the textural interpretation of scriptures’ are increasing, which leads to experimental attempts with a variety of materials in different perspectives. This shows that ‘Fusion Art’ is the rising star in the modern society of art.

I think that it is important to become the opportunity for new possibilities of beauty and the soul of plastic experimentalists regardless of particularly structured genres. Therefore, these attempts ultimately led us to step up for the field of ‘Total Art’ and then 'Good Art'.

What is the role of the artist today?

I would like to be an artist who communicates my thoughts and beliefs with the world through my own artistic sense. I strongly believe that the most prestigious factor to appeal one’s own pieces are to attach new media and methods that change the paradigm of fixed thoughts and expression in art. For example, understanding customary acts or connotative meaning in culture would be ‘new’ to those who are not from this own country nor living on this earth. Because for those who are not used to that particular atmosphere or hard to understand that particular context, the approach to understanding this particular theme would be interpreted as ‘New attempt’ or ‘Challenge’, which would lead to higher engagement in art pieces.

Jesse A. Nusbaum

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Growing up in Connecticut as a gifted athlete, most people knew about Jesse Nusbaum’s athletic prowess but not his artistic talents. Nusbaum was an All-State baseball player and recruited by many colleges to play baseball. He attended Muhlenberg College as a political science major, intending to become a lawyer, but after briefly attending law school, chose to pursue his passion as an artist. He received a B.A. in Fine Art's from Muhlenberg in 2013.

At just 30 years of age, Mr. Nusbaum has received multiple awards and accolades for his art, specializing in sculpting bronze animals. In 2017, he was selected as one of the youngest artists inducted into the Silvermine Guild of Artists. In 2019, he was selected as a member of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts. He has been featured in Contemporary Art Curator Magazine’s "100 Artists of the Future," World Wide Art Books’ "Important World Artists", and "International Contemporary Masters." At the age of 28, he was nominated by Connecticut Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40, which recognizes 40 high achievers under 40 years of age in multiple walks of life—from professional athletes, politicians, writers, and others who have made their mark in the State of Connecticut.

Nusbaum has been showcased three times at Art Basel in Miami. In 2018, his work was on display at the prestigious Red Dot Miami venue at Art Basel, where he and his gallery, Zenith Art and Fashion, were honored with multiple awards.

Recently, Nusbaum was selected to be published in Marquis’ “Who’s Who in America,” The 2020 Edition. Soon after, Nusbaum was selected to MorningStar’s “Top 101 Professionals of 2020.”

Notably, two of Mr. Nusbaum’s Husky busts (the mascot of the University of Connecticut) were presented to the Women’s Head Coach and the Men’s Head Coach in 2014, in honor of their twin national basketball championships.

Nusbaum has sold many of his sculptures to private collectors in the United States and internationally.

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Tobbe Malm

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Tobbe Malm’s artistry draws its strength from his own emotions and his fondness for storytelling. The attentive artist combines reflections on the time we are living in with expressions from growing up in the mining industry’s Norberg in Sweden. He creates unique art that invites to curiosity and wonder.

Malm makes art for the private market and public arenas. He is happy to take on assignments.

Tobbe maintains his workshop at Bærums Verk, outside Oslo. Bærums Verk is old ironworks where the houses are now workshops, shops and galleries. He is also co-owner of Gallery SOOT.

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Saba Besier

"My sculptural works are inspired by delightful freaks of nature, bringing awareness to their plight, but also celebrating the bizarre beauty of the many species we are losing due to climate change. The luminosity of porcelain adds an element of hope to the despondency of my subject."

Derek Morris

"I have always been stimulated by landscapes and certain kinds of architecture, particularly Romanesque and British Arts and Craft. But I am not a copyist and consider myself to be an Abstract/Concrete artist. Geometric form and the increasing use of colour as structure animate my reliefs."

Ken Jones

"My dreams constantly influence my work, so I don't always get a lot of sleep."

Robert E Gigliotti

"Art is a spiritual practice. The goal of the art I do is to demonstrate that "ALL IS ONE." Beyond being interconnected we are literally ONE. I get my inspiration from non-dual spiritual practices such as Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta."

IHARA

“My goal is to create a harmonious relationship between nature and artifact. By combining these two conflicting factors, we can remove nature (living organic matter) and non-natural boundaries.”

Harald Weber

"I like the nice feeling of discovering pleasing forms in the seemingly worthless, used, from everyday life and nature in order to explore a possible artistic use in advance. It is important: natural patina - the protective layer to counter the transitory - helps me to create my works."

Helga Palasser

"Art is food for our souls. I am trying to make my very personal perception visible through my art language."

JIYOUNG KIM

What themes does your work involve?

Describe your creative process.

What influences your work? What inspires you? Why do you make art?

What is good art? What makes a piece of art great?

What is the role of the artist today?

Jesse A. Nusbaum

"I strive to replicate the actual subject. Utilizing micro-detail encourages a more intimate, close-up interaction. I want my viewers to feel like they experienced a face-to-face encounter with the actual animal."

Tobbe Malm