SOLO EXHIBITION | SCOTTSDALE, AZ
New dates!
Altamira Fine Art Scottsdale is pleased to present a new solo exhibition for Utah-based artist Greg Woodard, May 4- 23, 2020.
Stay tuned for more details regarding the Artist Events for this exhibit.
An old paint, balanced like a ballerina on his front leg, his flank flinging a cowboy from his back. The man dissolves into the ether above, his body disappearing from sight and memory, “like a shooting star,” says its sculptor Greg Woodard. In his bronze scene, the bucking horse remains resolutely the focus, furiously vertical, a triumphant moment in time. Endowing the lower equine elements with the greatest detail, the artist extends the feral drama into the negative space, articulating through absence as much as presence. “Halfway up the body cavity is where everything starts to disappear,” he says. “There is so much power in the negative space.”
Power is also in texture. Instead of sandblasting off the rough bits of ceramic shell—remnants of the casting process—Woodard leaves the residue to act as material and metaphorical transformation. The surfaces of his sculptures are rich with varied patinas which suggest layers of historical narrative. Unique patinas act as invitations to invent the plotlines leading up to metallic climaxes. The artist does so while sculpting: “The stories develop as I am working on them. I typically don’t have everything set in stone in my mind. I don’t really do study pieces. I don’t sketch. I get the idea and start building the armature. I just go in and solve all of the things that are going to happen. I spend a lot of time on my armatures; to me, they need to look like a piece of art.”
Self-taught as a sculptor, Woodard draws on his study of Western history: in reading about legendary bucking broncos, he revered those who were rarely ridden, those defiantly undefeated. His bronzes became a celebration of such spirit: “The horse is winning.”