Big names in contemporary figurative sculpture

[thursday]

Hi all,

I'm a young Artist new to Sculpture.net and new to Sculpture in general.
I have a general question...
My interest is classical figurative work and I'm trying to get a handle on the industry as it is today.
What are the big names of contemporary figurative sculpture?
Are the Studios in Pietrasantra the best in the world?
I mean in a purely technical sense as in correct anatomy, traditional carving techniques & finish etc.
Outside of Italy, Christina Mikulasek seems to be one of the best.
http://www.mikulasek.com/
Is there many others still working in this vein?

I hope people will post a few names and that you'll all forgive my ignorance,

Thursday

[fritchie]

There's quite a range, and I'll take a bit of time later to post a few. Some have been mentioned in this forum, with web references. I did have problems with your Mikulasek link, though. All I got was a main page, with no apparent further links. Am I doing something wrong?

[thursday]

Thanks Fritchie,
Yes, it's a big topic!
I thought it would be interesting to see who different members "dream team" would consist of. I'm curious to see if there is a consensus in this particular type of sculpture.

That is odd about the Mikulasek link. At the bottom of the home page, there are buttons for the pages. Here's some direct links:
http://www.mikulasek.com/sculpture2.htm
http://www.mikulasek.com/portraiture.html

Thursday

[oddist]

Check out http://www.luigigalligani.it/

I believe every country is going to have it's own culturally inspired examples.

[JasonGillespie]

Hello,
Someone you might want to take a look at is a sculptor by the name of Sabin Howard. (sabinhoward.com) He is very interesting and certainly working from a classical perspective. If Fredrick Hartt were still alive he would be one of the obvious choices, but his early death robbed the world of many great sculptures. Mikulasek is atually one of the people I would put at the medium level of ability. Look up a sculptor by the name of Hlavka. He is working at a very high level. Richard McDonald is definitely one of the best when it comes to sheer power and accuracy of the human form. Loveland, Colorado has many talented sculptors and I think the majority are figurative. If you spend some time on google, what I do, you can find a good number of really gifted sculptors to be inspired by.


A word of advice, from a one time young artist to another, go to the past to find out what is truly good and what is not. The Greeks set out certain porportions and sculpting concepts that held sway in the art world until the middle ages and then were rediscovered during the Renaissance. From then until really the end of the 19th century artists have continued in that tradition, but since the advent of "modern/post modern" art during the last century, much of that learning has gone out of use. This is true to a much greater degree in America than in Europe. Many of the figurative sculptors today are working apart from that tradition and are really using a more documentary approach which is akin to photorealism. Learning to distinguish between that approach and a truly classical approach will benefit you greatly. If you look to places like the New York Academy of Art, The Florence Academy of Art, and a few other places like them, you will see what the true standard is for excellence in the classical/figurative arts today.

Some artists from the past for you to look at are: Bernini, Carpeaux,
St. Gaudens, Myslbek,Vigeland, Rodin, and of course Michelangelo. The 19th century itself will provide a great many sculptors whose work is technically impeccable though somewhat dated by our standards.

Good luck in your pursuits

Jason

[fritchie]

I have to thank Jason for reviving this earlier post, in which I frankly dropped the ball. The truth is, I put the question off originally because I’m not aware of any figurative artists working today, or even ones who have worked recently, whose work I consider exemplary.

I did plan to do some Google searches, and hoped the question might generate other answers, but the paucity of responses more or less accurately describes the state of figuration today. Relatively few people work in the field, and genuine genius is rare.

I’d say, the figurative artist today has to find his/her own way, and the path begins with a recognition that art comes from the mind and not from the eye. I have worked with the goal of making my sculpture reflect people around me rather than people of five hundred to several thousand years ago and a quarter of a world from where I live.

I’d suggest aspiring figurative artists look at the world around them, study the field twith whatever sources are available - museums, books, the Internet, schools. Acquire basic materials, techniques and aids such as modeling stands, armatures, clay, plaster, photography (to share your work and ask for help), and so on. I consider working from life essential and it’s not cheap, even through schools, unless you have one or more cooperative friends. And get to work!

Not the best answer, probably, but some suggestions have made it here, and hopefully this refreshed thread will add more.

[fritchie]

To do a bit more of my own homework I just checked the references in both Thursday’s and oddist’s posts. Thursday’s links to Christina Mikulasek’s website made my browser crash several times, but not before I could see some of the sculpture. It is good, and she seems to use classical references in much of her own work. Luigi Galligani’s site came in better, and I liked the 3 or 4 I saw, in a presumably “Flash” sequence.

I also checked Jason’s recommendation, sabinhoward.com. These works satisfy your request for anatomical realism, but strike me as precisely that, and illustrate my major point above - art is made with the mind and not the eye. This is sculpture which demonstrates anatomy and has little or no emotional content.

I still say, look around with whatever resources you have, and get to it.

[JasonGillespie]

To make an addition to what fritchie has said, I think that except for a couple of contemporary figurative scultptors, his assesment is correct. Today there are few that go beyond the documentary approach that seems to be the standard for so many. This is very much a result of a disconnect with the traditions of the past......I should amend my statement and say that if you look to these contemporary sculptors and institutions I listed you will see examples of the best that can be offered at this time. Thanks to fritchie for enabling me to clarify a point that did need it.

I also agree about Sabin Howard. His work is lacking in the area of emotive power, due in great part to his focus on technique...but he is still one of the best today. Technical skill has in many peoples' minds replaced creative vision, but that isn't to say that everyone has that mindset. I think that in many respects artists like Macdonald and Hartt have made a connection to that type of sculpture that in the past was the rule rather than the exception. In terms of living sculptors, you have to work with what you have.

Truly, for my money, the past is the best place you can find to reconnect with a visionary approach to art in general. Looking at a painter like El Greco informs my sculpture far more than the majority of the living sculptors today. Remember, sculptors aren't just limited to one medium for learning and inspiration. Look at any artist that seems to "get it". The art nouveau graphic artist Alphonse Mucha, for example, is an unlikely, but inspiring source for compositional and design elements as well as his ability to create a pleasing visual shorthand for the form. One of my favorite artists is John Singer Sargent, though many only see him as a portraitist, his use of paint is akin to Rodin's use of clay. The trait that makes a great sculptor is not always what you think and there are many two dimensional artists who possess these traits as well.

Think on this......If the artists of the late Gothic period had not looked back and revived much of the forgotten knowledge of the Greeks and Romans....there would not have been a Renaissance. We know that the result of their acknowledgement of the past is what radically changed the course of art in the western world. Are we of the figurative tradition at this time at such a crossroads now? When much of that knowledge that was passed down from period to period, each movement using it in a different way but holding to the universal truths of sculpture/art,.....when that knowledge by and large has ceased to be taught in most colleges and universities,...what is our recourse? We are in a position to allow that knowledge to pass out of memory or we can redisdover it as the Gothic artists did classical antiquity. The ball, as I see it, is in our court. This is a good thing I think.


Jason

[oddist]

Since we're talking figurative sculpture of the present...is there opinion on the difference between European and American sculpture?

[fritchie]

Think on this......If the artists of the late Gothic period had not looked back and revived much of the forgotten knowledge of the Greeks and Romans....there would not have been a Renaissance. We know that the result of their acknowledgement of the past is what radically changed the course of art in the western world. Are we of the figurative tradition at this time at such a crossroads now? When much of that knowledge that was passed down from period to period, each movement using it in a different way but holding to the universal truths of sculpture/art,.....when that knowledge by and large has ceased to be taught in most colleges and universities,...what is our recourse? We are in a position to allow that knowledge to pass out of memory or we can redisdover it as the Gothic artists did classical antiquity. The ball, as I see it, is in our court. This is a good thing I think.
Jason

Very astute comparison, Jason. People remark almost constantly about the rapid pace of change today, but until this post, I had not connected the state of figuration today with the state of Western art overall in the late Gothic period. Stagnation of Western culture for almost a thousand years nearly had cost us the greatest achievements of early Greece, Rome, and the other Mediterranean states. In our time, the threatened loss has occurred in just half a century.

The essence of the problem, as I see it, is the truly artificial nature of art. (Should I say creative nature?) I’ve probably described sculpture earlier in this forum as a language. In those terms, figuration is one dialect, or one language; construction with wood, metal, or other pre-formed components is another dialect or language, and so on. When a dialect or language nearly is lost, only a serious, dedicated (and often quite creative) individual or group can reverse the process.

I do think figuration is near this point of crisis, and workers in other arenas shouldn’t be complacent, because the same thing will happen there sooner or later. True, change is inevitable and not necessarily bad, but the time for creative energy applied in figuration is now. Call to action! (Sound like manifesto? I’ve never liked that concept, but perhaps it is conversations of this sort that bring them to being.)

[JasonGillespie]

To reply to the question of European and American sculpture....I am only venturing an opinion, but it seems to me that the European sentiment is one of casual disregard for fads or trends..atleast as we here in America understand those phenomena. Here we tend to run headlong into something and abandon ourselves to the latest and greatest. The result of this throwing the baby out with the bathwater approach makes for an unbalanced and myopic understanding of the arts. In large part we in America are children of the industrial revolution. Our national fabric is very much about industry. Old ways that are not as high tech or take longer become casualties. Much of our sculpture shows that. Why study or apprentice for years with an ackowledged master when you can strike out on your on? To the American sensibility this makes no sense. The result is a rush to creation that often times lacks the maturation that a few years of true scholarship might bring.

In Europe, however, you can still find respect for traditional knowledge. European countries by and large came of age a millennia ago and in many ways understand that not everything that is old needs replacing and that not everything new should be embraced. (Obiviously this is true in many non-European countries as well.) This makes for a much more balanced view of the arts in my opinion. We can learn from them in this respect. The problem is how to change something that is ingrained at a level that is almost subconscious? Our keeping up with the Joneses mentality makes us vulnerable to missing the forest for the trees.

Jason

[Blake]

I don't know that I can add allot of theory to this discussion and certainly don't know anything about the present situation of figurative sculpture in the US, but in 1986 I personally could not find someone who could teach me figurative sculpture in Canada and was restricted to creating abstract sculpture (I am not complaining, I think that this was very valuable knowledge). I moved to Europe to study figurative sculpture and was lucky enough to find another job there in order to support my studies. I made a promise to my teacher, (an American teaching in Paris) that I would pass along the method of sculpting that he taught, which he said was a very old method and that he thought it was being lost. I have made good this promise and now an associate teaches this method in Nice France.
In Europe, traditional methods and practices are highly valued as Jason has suggested and yet economics forces us all to update our methods. I think that this traditional method, I was taught, is difficult to follow as it is too time consuming to support the economics of the sculpture produced, thus the sculptor must use the American revolution attitude in order to survive.
To further disadvantage the French sculptor, the tax law limits editions to 12 copies after which a 19.6% tax is charged on behalf of the state.
Blake

[Arnis]

You have to find out the strent of figurative art not only realisum.No body menshuned Ivan Mestrovich and Bordel.Vigelan is also good one.All anather authors that was menshuned they are soft and unrelaible .

[Arnis]

You have to find out the strent of figurative art not only realisum.No body menshuned Ivan Mestrovich and Bordel.Vigelan is also good one.All anather authors that was menshuned they are soft and unrelaible .

[iron ant]

Jason,Total props on your view in Fredric Hartt,and McDonald's bonzes are powerful.To throw another bone in this thread,Is Western art more figuritive than artist on the East coast?The galleries out west have a lot of very prominent figuritive work,But go to the Swank galleries in Atlanta,Charlotte,Miami,ect and you rarley see figurtive art.I love figuritive art,and I am glad there is a bunch of sculpture hounds still fired up about it.All one has to do is stand under David in Italy,see Hartt's Wasington Cathedral,or one of MacDonald's bronzes and your hooked.

Page Bradley's web site only showed the cover page,but looked impressive.Maybe this thread has so many folks checkinging it out it crashed? Also, it sounds like jason needs to be knee deep in plastaline freeking sculpting away,please don't do it on a computer.

[fused]

I do believe that figurative sculpture will always exist worldwide
and every generation will produce new masters to continue the
tradition.

Robert Graham (http://www.robertgraham-artist.com/), John Houser (http://www.twelve-travelers.com/index.html) and Mark Prent (http://www.puretaos.com/artists/PrentMark/index.shtml) (who shares (http://www.pinkhouse.com/index.html) what he knows)

[Janet Michael]

I agree that there will always be an interest and demand for figurative sculpture, but I do doubt that every generation will have it's "masters". It would seem that label should be reserved for true greatness. I think generations often pass without anyone taking up that torch in a particular field; we're often too close to ourselves and our own generation to make those judgements correctly.

I'm new to figurative sculpture and it's true, it is difficult to find really good work. I initially liked Richard MacDonald, and clearly he is very talented, but his work ultimately leaves me a bit empty. I think a student could learn a lot from him though and he does offer classes - just can't afford it ($$$). Paige Bradley was an assistant to MacDonald and so her work looks very much the same.

I agree with Jason's statements regarding the "documentary" or technical approach of many sculptors today. It's as though the artists focus is too much on anatomy and correctness and not enough on making us feel. Ultimately, "making us feel" would seem to be what it's about.

Two sculptor's works I landed on recently were, Lee Dunsmore at http://www.artistshouse.com./ He or she is very talented, just wish their was more work and larger pictures. The other artist is David Frech at http://www.davidfrech.com./ Also very talented, he's able to capture a quality of life that is beyond mere technique. Also wish he had more work to see.

[Arnis]

Hi Janet.I use to work and educate in sculpture more that twoenty years and I am a young man.So I know my job.But I concider this is a hoby.I sell nothing .This is the best jugement for profesionalism.Every thing that I do is yltimately in plaster becouse I can't affore the cast.There are some of my works.So you to be big sculptor is not only to know how and able to do.Good luck.Arnis

[Foundryman1]

Important sculptors in the American art scene
My top ten:
Richard McDonald
Jane DeDecker
Glenna Goodacre
Tuck Langland
Joseph Sheppard
Jan Rosetta
Victor Issa
Richard McDermott Miller
Martin Eichinger

Some of these are going to be remembered more for their contribution to 'sculpture' rather than for their own pieces necessarily, (Langland and Sheppard), and in making up this list, I think there are others that are extremely noteworthy, whose names will continue to appear: Richard Blake, Edward Fleming, Barbara Margolis, Dan Ostermiller, Tim Cherry, W. Stanly Proctor, Christopher Smith, Saiji Saito, Veryl Goodnight, Judith Bransome, Jay Hall Carpenter, Carol Harless, and Gary Lee Price, just to name a few. I wish there were a good site I could send you to to view their important works, but even internet searches return anemic results at best.

However, if it is inspiration and emulation you desire, I can only repeat what others have said: return to the Greeks and Romans, spend time in the Louvre, and make a pilgrimage to Florence.

[reinertor]

I recently discovered Sabin Howard's work through his Hermes at the TimeWarner Center in NYC (currently 2nd floor). It is breathtaking. I disagree with JasonGillespie who said (above), "His work is lacking in the area of emotive power, due in great part to his focus on technique...but he is still one of the best today." It is true that Sabin Howard is one of the best today (I imagine that soon he will be widely accepted as THE best), but I can't imagine how anyone could accuse him of lacking emotive power. Quite the contrary; this masterpiece exudes fundamental feelings of peace, joy and love. Maybe those are not really emotions, and it is true that one does NOT sense "emotion" in the sense of angst or anger in Sabin Howard's work. The New York Times comparisons to Donatello and Rodin are apt. In the case of Sabin Howard's Hermes, it appears on par even with Michelangelo.

This is an artist to watch.

[dondougan]

Nobody has named Igor Mitoraj -- the German-born Polish sculptor who lives and works in both France and Pietrasanta.

Here is one link for some of his larger cast pieces:

http://www.adhikara.com/igor-mitoraj/index.html

Though at first glance his work (carved marble, cast bronze and iron, some fired ceramic) seems classically realistic, it has layers of references that keep it from being a re-hash of classic figurative work.

Mitoraj is widely exhibited in Europe and I've seen some of his work in Japan, but other than a 'Spoleto' festival in Charleston back in the early 1990s I very rarely see references to his work in American publications. I don't think he offers any kind of classes anywhere, but I just can't imagine talking about contemporay figurative sculpture without including his work.

Another sculptor who does some excellent highly-realistic figurative work (including forensic anthropology) is Phillip Faraut:

http://www.philippefaraut.com/

He offers classes on his website if you are in the New York area.

[Merlion]

Thanks for the links to the two remarkable artists Dondougan.

Digressing a bit, I notice when Mitoraj presents the large figurative bronzes with parts of their antomies cut off, he show the cut off edges of the hollow bronze, rather than covering up the openings.

I'm sure he has good reasons for doing so, perhaps to make it obvious that the bronze pieces are hollow. On the other hand, I can think of quite a few reasons why this is undesirable, some are visual/artistic, and some are practical. On balance, I think I would prefer covering them up.

[fritchie]

Don - Thanks for calling attention to Igor Mitoraj here. I certainly think he belongs in this group. Someone posted at least one image of his on the site a year or so ago, and I found the work very impressive. It's an odd mixture of classical figuration and modern diversion, sort of theatrical in a way, but overall I like it and find it substantive.

On Merlion's point about ragged edges or internal openings, I commonly do the same on my partial figures, but there also are cases where I close them. Just whatever seems appropriate at the time and for the particular piece.

[Arnis]

Doudougan.Igor Mitoraj.I named him ,if you check my posts.That is the way how the sculpture should be done. Doudougan again hit in the target.I mentioned Phillip Faraut in other forum.The people there wonderred where to study and prefere Richard Mc Donald .I wasn't agree with them.Doudougan.It is good to see somebody who knows what is a good sculpture.

[saundrahough]

[I am very interested in this request because I am forming a list of "Who,s Who", in practicing Contemporary Sculptors to be used for corporate and private investors. I have enjoyed reading your replies and would appreciate any further information regarding gallery and museum quaility sculptors interested in representation. This is a premier project w/ little or no cost involved for listing and background and location information.

Thank You,
Saundra Hough
MASA

[arcdawg]

My Name................some Day !

[fritchie]

[I am very interested in this request because I am forming a list of "Who,s Who", in practicing Contemporary Sculptors to be used for corporate and private investors. I have enjoyed reading your replies and would appreciate any further information regarding gallery and museum quaility sculptors interested in representation. ... etc. ...
Saundra Hough
MASA
Saundra, your post is polite and I note in your profile you say you are a sculptor, but this post borders on the sort of advertisement we generally don't permit. I'm not removing it, but I'd appreciate your saying something more in this thread about your own work, including a web site and/or images if you have them.

[fritchie]

My Name................some Day !

Right on! Best of luck!

[kstanek]

looking for technically competent with the emotional content of rodin - two names: javier marin and gary weisman - two living masters

[ExNihiloStudio]

Ancient bronzes were hollow. The fragments we have to study show this very clearly and the fragments have ragged openings, both due to the ragages of time and by the way they were made. In the last two hundred years there have been more of these bronzes discovered and put on display than there ever have been since it all went underground 1500+ years ago. It would not surprise me if Igor Mitoraj is looking at this.

[Arnis]

ExNihilo.I don't mind .Igor Mitoraj is great modern and reading the ancient bronzes.Arnis

[Jamo]

Its a funny thing. I have had people ask me why is it all those greek sculptures were made without arms and missing body parts. I would then have to explain that they werent made that way but it is a result of the dammage that has occured to them over time.The majority of the sculptures having appendages that were very prone to dammage have shaped the way we view sculpture of the past. Its as if 1000 years from now another civilization were to discover ancient fiberglass Ronald McDonald's and think we were a clown worshiping culture. You have to look at things in context and I think that his work (I am glad to have discovered Igor mitoraj through this thread) is a interesting commentary on the effects of time on a work and how our culture of today views the cultures of the past. Also don't forget that alot of these wonderfully gleeming white marbles were painted with pigmented wax. I wonder what the venus demilos was doing with her two hands if she was giving the finger to everyone or hailing a taxi. It also reminds me of the work of someone else whom I forget but did a series of sculptures playing with the idea of lost appendages on the classial greek marbles. He made marble sculptures that imitated the greek style however the subjects were amputees. Maybe it is the same sculptorwho did the woman at trafalgar square I'm not sure. Anyways I'm enjoying all the names that people are coming up with and I have been looking at the work. So please keep them coming I would enjoy hearing other peoples opinions on who is a living master.

[Arnis]

Hi Jamo.I have been herd a similar thing for Coca Cola pray.About the greek sculptures and Mc Donald's clown after 1000 years.The diference is that of the clown will remain only a balloon.The base is important. Yes the greek sculptures was painted.But their torsos are wonderful .Micelangelo said "if you push one statue down the Capitolia Hill and what is remain is quality".Don't underestimate the time like judgement.Arnis

[JasonGillespie]

I thought I would add one of my professors to the growing list. Leonid Lerman is one of those great figurative artists that has found his delving into abstraction to be a powerful component in giving contemporary meaning to the tradition of figurative sculpture. The links below show the breadth of his abilities and his evolution from a strict traditional to a contemporary/traditional approach.


www.academicart.com/lerman.htm
www.giotto.org/donatello/lerman/
www.giotto.org/donatello/lerman/academic.html
www.logosjournal.com/issue_4.1/lerman.htm
www.mckeegallery.com/artists/leonid_lerman_img.html

My earliest experience with him was in our first semester drawing class. His eye is ruthless in finding the weaknesses of your work. The outcome is a much better drawing in the short term and a better understanding of internal form in the long term.

[fritchie]

Thanks, Jason. He's done quite a variety of work. Regardless of one's view of the place of realism in today's world, his work shows one way of accepting a degree of change.

[tobias]

you know i am just glad that this stuff exists
thank you all for the great info
tobias

[Arnis]

Because we speak for our professors. I think that one of mine gave me a lot. He is a sculptor and an architect teaching in this both academies. His training was even rougher. He encouraged us to leave if we did not succeed in learning. By that time I was completely finished as a figurative sculptor. But in his class I learned much more. I checked Leonid Lerman and he is good figurative trained. But I didn't see any relation between his previos figurative works and his contemporaly sculptures. That is a pity. My mentor told me how to do that. It doesn't matter what you do figurative or abstract, contceptual art.You should ask yourself: What I do that for? What I want to say? What is the genesis of the shape? How can I conduct and move the parts? Due to very poor result in Internet search "Kroum Damianov" I can provide only few attached files of his works. Arnis

[Arnis]

More pictures at his works.Arnis

[SCUK]

I would suggest to check out Denise Dutton’s work, http://www.sculptureconsultants.co.uk/denise_dutton.htm

enjoy

[mountshang]

I'm not addressing the question of big names - but here's my collection, to date, of my favorite sculptors (under the age of 65):


http://www.ilovefiguresculpture.com/masters/21century/newcentury.htm


It's a miserably small collection -- since finding these people is such a hit-or-miss affair -- and hopefully, when I go through this thread more carefully, I'll find some new names to add.

One thing to remember is that there is plenty to be found outside the U.S. -- especially in Russia and the former Soviet republics.

Here's an interesting Russian site that I just found. There's over 300 items -- in no particular order -- and many of them look terrible (to me) -- but some of them are successful sculptors -- and some of them I really enjoy.

http://www.artrussian.com/museum/park-arts/sculpture-park-of-arts/page255.html

[mountshang]

Here's a critical review of some of some big names (McDonald, Goodacre, etc) by that young curmudgeon, Miles Mathis:

http://www.geocities.com/milesmathis/nielsen.html


I don't agree with about half of what he's written -- but I do appreciate a review that's based on emotion -- and an attempt to elaborate on that emotion -- rather than a discussion of what is -- or is not -- contemporary.

My sense is that Miles has not spent enough time with the great sculpture of the world -- and I'm also not sure that there's any point in writing about the work of a good friend -- since that relationship is going to trump any relationship with their sculpture.

But figure sculpture should be talked about more often -- just like everyone likes to talk about movies.

[Arnis]

Here's a critical review of some of some big names (McDonald, Goodacre, etc) by that young curmudgeon, Miles Mathis:

http://www.geocities.com/milesmathis/nielsen.html


I don't agree with about half of what he's written -- but I do appreciate a review that's based on emotion -- and an attempt to elaborate on that emotion -- rather than a discussion of what is -- or is not -- contemporary.

My sense is that Miles has not spent enough time with the great sculpture of the world -- and I'm also not sure that there's any point in writing about the work of a good friend -- since that relationship is going to trump any relationship with their sculpture.

But figure sculpture should be talked about more often -- just like everyone likes to talk about movies.Hi .He is ridgt for every thing.A good job.Arnis

[Berinje']

At the top of my list of the top ten best contemporary figurative sculptors I too would include Ed Hlavka and along with him, Bruce Wolfe. They both sculpt incredibly natural and expressive figures and portraits.

[Arnis]

At the top of my list of the top ten best contemporary figurative sculptors I too would include Ed Hlavka and along with him, Bruce Wolfe. They both sculpt incredibly natural and expressive figures and portraits.
Hi Berinje.You have a great tast.The first one Ed Hlavka makes babies and grannies.The second one Bruce Wolfe makes saints and naked chicks.Ha-ha-ha .Arnis

[Arnis]

.............

[Berinje']

Ah, Arnis, but have you really studied Ed's grannies and babies, and Bruce's saints and naked chicks? Impeccable! Actually, Ed sculpts amazing classical full-figure portraits, the best I've seen, as does Bruce. But more importantly their figures exude such a natural ease and flow--with each new sculpture I strive toward their high marks--and they are also exquisitely proportioned as well as expressive. Sorry, but for classical realism, and especially for portrait figures, I don't think it gets much better than these two sculptors, these days.

[Arnis]

Hi Paula.I checked you also.I desided no to be so rude.It is your choose and your call.Anyway you obviously make earning out of that.I do not.It is not for me .I prefer mor classical aproach.Good luck .Arnis

[ara]

I have made good this promise and now an associate teaches this method in Nice France.
Blake

any more info on this school/course please? website or contact details?

[justme]

Hi,
Check out http://www.jayhallcarpenter.com/index.htm
J

[slivings]

Oh MY GOD!!! How can anyone say that figurative art is dead or that they can't think of any contemporary figurative sculptors?!?!!??!! AHHH!!!
Kiki Smith
Doug Jeck
Akio Takamori
Tom Bartel
Arthur Gonsalez
Katy Rush
Manuel Neri
George Segal
Justin Novack
Issac Isopov
Nan Smith
Marc Burns
Crystal Boger
Adrian Arleo
just a few faves I can ramble off the top of my head
I would recommend looking at ceramics, there is a ton of figurative work in clay, look at Robert Arneson, his figures are amazing!

you could even argue Mathew Barney, Tom Friedman, Janine Antoni, Kara Walker, Do Ho Su, Jeff Koons all use figures, or figurative elements in their work, although I wouldn't call them figurative artists, atleast not exclusively. Looking at classical work, as well as not sculptural work, is great and very insightful but there is a lot of figurative work out there

[clone.no]

Did anyone mention Glynn Williams? :p

[ajoysisk]

I am happy to see that someone made a list (slivings) of ceramic figurative artists. Jeck is an interesting creature to communicate with and once placed an emphasis on antiquity; I nearly chose to do my MFA with him. Boger is a wonderful person and creator; I knew her at Indiana University. There are 3 or 4 good books out there that are more or less a compilation of ceramic (contemporary) figures....but....the vast majority of the work seems garish, tacky, and utterly lacking in an understanding of anatomy or sculpture.

I do not wish to be redundant b/c I just rambled about The Florence Academy of Art in another thread (fig. workshops), but you might check out the sculpture being produced there...they have an alumni gallery online and a show every year (http://www.florenceacademyofart.com). I suggest you view Lotta Blokker's work (also found here: http://www.wildevuur.nl/).

[Steve Yeates]

www.steveyeates.co.uk

[Tlouis]

Good misty morning from Pennsylvania

I haven't read thru all previous posts, but did anyone mention British sculptor Sean Henry?

You can see his work at www.seanhenry.com

Terrific stuff!

Lou

[Arnis]

Tiouis.You are in mistake man.The guy is great .But he is conceptual artist not figurative one.Anyway.I like his approach,so social and great ideas also.Arnis

[Tlouis]

Hello Arnis

Sean Henry NOT figurative? Then what would you call all those figures of men and women in his work? Abstractions???

Why not post some of your work on this site. I cannot access your home page. Very curious to see your approach.

Is your name french?

Lou

[Arnis]

Hi, man. Sean is really a very good artist. It's just that the idea is leading in this case. For this type of art, you can cast any lifebody or from old originals.The stress is not on the figure itself. He didn't impress me with his ability to make figures. They are toys like. But it's good for the conceptual purpose - the environment they're placed in.
There is a link to one gallery with my works. I also send attached files. If you want to see my approach. Let me see yours also. The sculptures are in plaster. I know that you like the material. With best regards, Arnis. By the way, the link is disabled. I have to make a new one. Thank you.

[OperaArt.com]

Some of my favorites not yet mentioned:
Hanneke Beaumont
Jaume Plensa
Penelope Jencks
Sean Henry

Look at the Forum Gallery website (NY and LA based gallery). THey specialize in alot of contemporary figurative. You can sign up for a newsletter alerting you to new exhbitions.

For more classical style, look at the National Sculpture Society site, or their magazine, Sculpture Review. I find their offerings mixed, some technically accomplished but not emotionally very interesting, but some work is quite exciting, and many of the best known figurative sculptors working today in a classical style are elected Fellows of the Society.

[Tlouis]

Hi Arnis

Thanks for posting pictures. Your work is very strong. I admire your male and female torsos in first picture.

Don't have the means to upload pictures of my work on this site. You can see my work from a few years ago on WWW.Sculpture.org. Click on list of sculptors, then click on my name Desmarais. Tell me what you think.

Do you know the work of french sculptor Jean Ipousteguy? I think he is one of the very few GREAT sculptors of the 20/21st century.

Regards, Lou

[Arnis]

Hi Lou.I checked your works at Sculpture.org.Very good especially The Ancestor. Really a strong portrait.I know Ipousteguy he is a great sculptor.Your female torso have similar style.This is how we have to us the figurative sculpture.I send to you some of my works that are base at figures, but with diferent approach.With best regards .Arnis

[mountshang]

Here's another name to add to the list: Imre Varga -- who was given his own museum in Budapest (not many living sculptors have been honored in this way -- the only one I can think of was Szukalski -- back in the thirties when Poland made a museum in his honor -- just in time for it to get leveled by a German air raid)

Imre Varga is over 80 by now -- and has done, apparently, hundreds of pieces around Europe - including monuments to Bartok and Wallenburg -- but even though he has a museum -- he doesn't have a web site.

Here's a few pictures I could find:


http://www.mvdaily.com/articles/2004/12/bartok1.htm

http://www.brianmicklethwait.com/index.php/weblog/bartok_outside_south_kensington_tube/

-- and this monument to prostitutes:


http://audrainbudapest.blogspot.com/2004_09_01_audrainbudapest_archive.html

[Arnis]

Hi .She isn't good enough.There isn't body nor figure only dress.Rodin wten he modelling Balzak .He made a figure first and then covered with clothes.Whit best regards Arnis.

[mountshang]

I didn't care for the "Prostitutes" -- but the photo could have been better --and I really like what I saw of the monument to Bartok -- whether the sculpture modeling the figure nude before dressing it -- or not.

BTW -- I'm aware that some sculptors in history modeled figures nude before adding the clothing -- and that's the recommended procedure for modern academics -- but I don't think there's any evidence that this was ever done in European sculpture before 1500 -- or in Asian-African-or South American sculpture prior to 1900. And is there even any record of it happening during the Renaissance and especially the Baroque period ?

I'm curious --- just what is the total historical record for this procedure ?


(and BTW II -- I think the subject of this thread is "Big names" -- not "good sculptors" -- and Imre Varga does have a substantial reputation and body of work)

(and BTW III -- for what it's worth, Imre is a guy)

[Arnis]

I agree with you that there isn,t too many sculptors, doing body first after that clothes. But it is always necessary.You to put some content in your figure.Like geometric ,monumental exaggerate ,architectonic way ,some idea,negative-positive.Why you just not make a portrait .This full size figure is jast like that average portrait not a monument Bartok.But the commissions are tricky things. The shape is without content.With the "Prostitution" is same. If you know what I mean.About the big names in the contemporary sculpture .I am ready to argue with you. First one big name is necessary at list to be good.Otherwise what we going to study from him.I said that the guy is educated sculptor but not good enough.I know the sculptors from Hungary they are better.Send me more links of Imre Varga.May be those arn't good examples.Whith best regards Arnis.

[Arnis]

Hello Arnis

Sean Henry NOT figurative? Then what would you call all those figures of men and women in his work? Abstractions???

Why not post some of your work on this site. I cannot access your home page. Very curious to see your approach.

Is your name french?

Lou
Hallo Tiouis.I found one sculptor .He is from down -under Australia.Hi is working in same style like Sean Henry but more hyper-realistic.Resently he lives in UK as Sean Henry.Using same resin and rubber stuff.So enjoy.With best regards Arnis.
Ron Mueck check the name in Google there are good pictures.

[Tlouis]

Hi Arnis

Thanks for the Meuck posts. He's an interesting sculptor, very technically skilled, but a little too coldly clinical. I think he could do some terrific work if he went for the big picture instead of nit-picking detail.

Regards, Lou

[Arnis]

Hi Tlouis.Unfortunatly you are right for Meuck.He use to made film sets before.That is why he is so skillful.But you know me .I prefer more classical approach.With best regards Arnis.

[djongarski]

Hi to all,
My name is Georgi Djongarski, I’m 29 y. o. and I’m living currently in Sofia, Bulgaria. I graduated the Bulgarian National Academy of Fine Arts in 2004. My profile is Sculpture and I have a Master’s degree on it. I was also student of prof. Kroum Damianov. Please check out some of my figurative sculpture works, as well as my collegue's Konstantin Achkov ( www.konstant-in.com ).
For more details please visit http://coroflot.com/public/individual_search_results.asp?keywords=&name=djongarski&school=&experience=0&city=&state=0&country=0&submit=Search&search_origin=1&submitted=true&submitted_action

[Arnis]

Hi to all,
My name is Georgi Djongarski, I’m 29 y. o. and I’m living currently in Sofia, Bulgaria. I graduated the Bulgarian National Academy of Fine Arts in 2004. My profile is Sculpture and I have a Master’s degree on it. I was also student of prof. Kroum Damianov. Please check out some of my figurative sculpture works, as well as my collegue's Konstantin Achkov ( www.konstant-in.com ).
For more details please visit http://coroflot.com/public/individual_search_results.asp?keywords=&name=djongarski&school=&experience=0&city=&state=0&country=0&submit=Search&search_origin=1&submitted=true&submitted_action
Hi Georgi.I graduated in same studio in the class of prof. Kroum Damianov .It was 10 years ago.He is the best that I know.He teachs in very strong constructive way.Konstantin is friend of mine.He is smart young fellow.I wish you luck.Arnis

[djongarski]

zdrawei, mnogo dobre te poznawam. kogato biax plax kandidat student ti zawur6wa6e. az idwax da dosajdam w atelieto, no ti sigurno ne me pomni6. ni6to :rolleyes: .mejdu drugoto mnogo pozdrawi ot Kosio

[cmustard]

Very cool stuff. If you have a chance check out the work of Stephn DeStabler.

[djongarski]

Very cool stuff. If you have a chance check out the work of Stephn DeStabler.

thank you very much for the comment. i just saw the Stephen DeStabler's sculptures at www.artnet.com. good work.

[Arnis]

thank you very much for the comment. i just saw the Stephen DeStabler's sculptures at www.artnet.com. good work.
Hei momche shegyvash li se.Tozi e gola voda.Istochnika e iasen Peeshtite kolosi . Tova e neshto kato nepravilno prochetena Egipetska klasika.Kolosite sa zdrava arxetektonichna stryktyra,rasablichaneto na nenyshnite detaili ot vremeto gi pravi po konstryktivni.No tam taka ili inache ne se pipa, kontsepsiata za skylptyrata e razlichna.Tozi nai xybavite neshta sa my tezi koito sa vkarani vav blokovete,no dashe ne gi e pyknal kadeto triabva a i triabva da vidi kak se pravi aranshiran egipetski relef.Sas tezi starchashti kraka ot ploskosta e mnogo smeshno.To moshe ama da gi vkara vav nisha,kakto sa go pravili gramotnite xora.Ne se lashi tozi se xlazga po efekta ,formalist.No samo taka tyka obichat da se xvaliat edin dryg taka se podarshat dobrite otnoshenia.Arnis

[djongarski]

Hei momche shegyvash li se.Tozi e gola voda.Istochnika e iasen Peeshtite kolosi . Tova e neshto kato nepravilno prochetena Egipetska klasika.Kolosite sa zdrava arxetektonichna stryktyra,rasablichaneto na nenyshnite detaili ot vremeto gi pravi po konstryktivni.No tam taka ili inache ne se pipa, kontsepsiata za skylptyrata e razlichna.Tozi nai xybavite neshta sa my tezi koito sa vkarani vav blokovete,no dashe ne gi e pyknal kadeto triabva a i triabva da vidi kak se pravi aranshiran egipetski relef.Sas tezi starchashti kraka ot ploskosta e mnogo smeshno.To moshe ama da gi vkara vav nisha,kakto sa go pravili gramotnite xora.Ne se lashi tozi se xlazga po efekta ,formalist.No samo taka tyka obichat da se xvaliat edin dryg taka se podarshat dobrite otnoshenia.Arnis
zdrasti, prosto se prawia na liubezen! ina4e rabotite sa brutalni. otwrat! tuka mai e pulno s niakakwi liubiteli!? kak mislish?

[djongarski]

sled kato sme zawur6ili edno i su6to atelie bi triabwalo pone da sme se nau4ili da analizirame raboti. taka,4e spokoino! niama nujda da tursi6 primeri, za da dokazwa6 o4ewadni ne6ta. pozdrawi!

[anne (bxl)]

Hi Arnis and Djongarski,
Bulgarian seems a very interresting language but I am afraid no one but you is able to understand. So would you please translate what may concern the community and pursue your conversation in private?
Thank you.

[Arnis]

Hi Arnis and Djongarski,
Bulgarian seems a very interresting language but I am afraid no one but you is able to understand. So would you please translate what may concern the community and pursue your conversation in private?
Thank you.
Hi Anne,Sorry about that .We discuss little bit the works of Stephen DeStabler.I saw your web-site.It isn't in English too.But I like your works.They remind me for the sculptures of one of my teachers.Arnis

[saundrahough]

Are you categorizing these sculptors? If so, you may have a list that I need to observe. I will have the sculptors posted on my website soon. It is being worked on right now. The Website is MASA66.net. Wait until Feb 10th.

[Keropian]

Dear Saundra Hough,

Please have a look at my sculpture works. I can't say I am a big name in sculpture... Only eight letters!
But I am a contemporary figurative sculptor.
Working in the sculpture field for thirty years, I have known numerous figurative sculptors who created works that far surpass those mentioned above. Many have passed on or never got into the limelight. Unfortunately we only have their works to remember them by.
Don't be confused with fame and quality!

Ciao!

Michael Keropian
http://www.keropiansculpture.com

[merelees]

I go to the Art Expo at the Javitts Center in NY (I realize how commercial that is), but I've come across a couple of great figurative sculptors. One is Paige Bradley, another is a Vietnamese guy whose last name is Tuan, and my favorite is an orthopedic surgeon named Robert MacArthur. There is a thread about him under "art lounge". Here are two of his works-

[artisti]

I have not noticed the name of Peter Schipperheyn from Australia. I also note that most of these names are modelers, ie using clay as oppossed to carving in wood or stone. There is a very big difference in my mind between the act of putting on or off of a piece of clay and the definitive removal of material. Givern an amature, a human model lots of us can do a good job of copying what is in front of us. But stand before a block of stone with no model and carve the same piece, now that is a challenge!