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Above: Nataly as Venus, 2005, Resin, Graphite, and Steel, 84"x48"x24". Left to right: four views, installation view, and torso closeup.
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Welcome. I am a jack of many trades, including programming and design, but my passion is art, specifically drawing and sculpting the human body. In my view, the figure is not merely a subject of art, but it is also a form of art, meaning that in the right hands, how one sculpts or draws a figure becomes a potent vehicle for personal and intellectual expression. My goal is to have such hands. My undergraduate education was from 1994-1998 at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, after which I returned to San Francisco, working as a designer and programmer during the dot-com boom. After a period of traveling in Europe and South America, in 2003 I enrolled at the New York Academy of Art, the only graduate institution in the nation that offers technical training in the bedrock of representational artwork — drawing, painting, sculpture, and anatomy. In 2005 I received an MFA in sculpture, as well as the Trustees' Award (their highest honor) for my thesis project, Nataly as Venus, a 3/4 life-size sculpture in cast resin. Here is a short statement about that piece: This sculpture is an exaltation of an ordinary woman performing an everyday gesture. It is both a portrait of a specific individual and a sexually charged paean to the beauty of the female body. My familiarity with the model and my awareness of her complex feelings regarding this piece have led me to create a powerful figure that confronts the viewer from atop a narrow perch that both elevates her and puts her on display. |
In the modeling of the figure I've worked to create dialogues between structure and fluidity, stasis and movement, idealization and individuality. It is my hope that as one encircles this piece one will be alternately drawn to examine her body and react to her gaze. My influences in this work include Maillol, Lachaise, Cordier, and the female nudes of Robert Mapplethorpe. In 2005 I returned to San Francisco and worked as a web programmer and designer at Apple, Funny or Die, and Enphase Energy. I am currently the director of product at TechValidate, a technology marketing automation startup, and am getting TwelveDays.com, a retailer of unique Christmas gifts, off the ground in my spare time. I have two sculptures in progress that I look forward to displaying here when finished, as well as many existing drawings and sculptures that have yet to be uploaded. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments about my work. Some works are available for purchase, and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss commission opportunities.
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Above, left to right: Peacock, 1998, Bronze, 22" high, and Exile, 1998, Bronze, 22" high
© 2007 Jonathon Wolfe.
Developed by me, via Kolossus Interactive.