The following artists and sculptures are on display currently at the Topsfield Town Library as part of the 2023-2024 iteration of the Temporary Outdoor Sculpture Program. Check out our in-library brochure promoting the exhibit.
OWL by R. Douglass Rice
Powder-Coated Aluminum sculpture
R. Douglass Rice was born in La Jolla, CA in 1952 and grew up in Sewickley, PA. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy where he took his first sculpture class with Richard Lyman. He attended Stanford University where he studied sculpture with Richard Randall and earned a degree in human biology in 1974. He also studied painting at the Mendocino Art Center, San Francisco State University, and the School for Visual Arts in New York.
Rice has exhibited numerous galleries over the last 30 years, including two shows at the National Arts Club. He was a board member of the Bronx Museum of the Arts for 10 years and served as its chair from 2009 to 2013. He is currently Chair Emeritus of the museum.
In 2016, Rice moved to Stonington, CT where he now paints and sculpts full time and shows at local museums and galleries.
Contact
Email: drice1816@gmail.com
Website: rdart.com
Phone: (917) 731-1816
Urban Fauna by Jose Criollo
Recycled Metal
Jose Criollo, originally from Ecuador, now resides in Worcester where he creates his beautiful sculptures from repurposed metal pieces – be sure to find the pliers and wrenches in the antlers!
Through his work, Criollo tries to reflect on his meaningful life experiences. “I am concerned about creating pieces related to nature, specifically animals that remind me of experiences that have marked my life such as living on the Galapagos Islands or growing up in a small town with farm animals.”
“I call this piece Urban Fauna because the cities grow in the territory of animals who suffer the consequences and even death. It is difficult for the Urban Fauna to coexist with humans.”
“The importance of taking care of fauna for future generations is the message of my art work. For this I use materials that for many people are garbage such as recycled metal, used tools , bicycle parts, cutting saws, screws , door hinges and more.”
Contact
Email: jcriollo789@gmail.com
Website: criolloart.com
Phone: (508) 405-6430
Earth Laughs in Flowers by Gints Grinbergs
Welded steel and found objects
The Earth Laughs in Flowers is a sculpture by Gints Grinbergs after a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The artists used found objects, recycled scrap metal. and industrial cut-offs, and was “inspired by the infinitely more complex structures found in nature.”
Grinbergs’ creative process has two distinct halves – collecting and design. “As a lifelong packray, I have always enjoyed the collecting process, be it exploring barn sales and junk shops throughout New England or sneaking into scrap yards around Boston.” In the disposable world we live in, he strives to make things useful.
“The sculpture represents my concerns with the state of the natural world today. My efforts are to recycle industrial waste to form something beautiful – a monument to nature. The scale and rusty materials warn of mass extinctions that we are on the brink of! The sharp points remind us that nature can and will defend itself!”
Grinbergs describes his design process as complex. “It can be instantaneous – I’ll see the perfect parts for a sculpture scattered at my feet – or it can get laborious. I find nothing more agonizing than the equivalent of writer’s block!” He works intuitively, with no drawing or sketching beforehand. ‘”I enjoy working directly with materials – seeing which parts work best together.”
Contact
Email: gagrinbergs@yahoo.com
Website: gintsgrinbergs.com
Phone: (617) 335-6899
