Sculptors from Utah - These Utahn Sculptors Make Monuments of Unbelievable Magnitude - Odd Nugget
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Once a part of Mexico (and Spain, before that!) Utah is now the native state of many Mormon believers, plus a surprising number of accomplished artists.
Thanks to Utah's unique location behind the incredible Sierra Nevada, it receives very little rain, making it mostly a desert.
When rain does come, it rages in from the Pacific Ocean in the form of ferocious storms. Plus, it snows! Utah is by all means a land of incredible extremes.
Utah's most prominent sculptors are decidedly less extreme than the environment they call home, but their sculptural artwork is wonderful all the same. Here are a few worth taking a closer look at:
Alma Allen
Alma Allen produces peculiar pieces characterized by organic, fluid forms and intriguing textures.
Allen's work spans materials and sizes, with some of his creations being incredibly small and many others weighing multiple tons.
Originally from Utah, Alma now lives and works in Mexico.
His early work includes small, tabletop-scaled objects such as bowls, trays, and vessels in wood and cast bronze.
Organic and talisman-like, these small objects eventually led Allen to the much larger work he makes today.
Elegant and amorphous, and sculpted from marble, travertine, bronze, and walnut, Allen’s current work is made with the assistance of a giant robotic arm.
Nevada Museum of Art
Erasmo Fuentes
Raised as a Latter-day Saint in Mexico, Fuentes would move to Utah later in his life, after learning taxidermy and working full-time on sculpting.
Erasmo Fuentes's bronze sculptures pull from his religious faith a wealth of human forms.
From full-size monumental works of art to approachable pieces meant for modern homes, Erasmo's creations weave a recognizable sort of magic.
Solon Borglum
This Utahn sculptor put his own experiences with Native Americans and cowboys into his detailed sculptural work.
Borglum immortalized incredibly kinetic scenes of frontier life in each of his creations. His older brother Gutzon would go on to sculpt Mt. Rushmore!
Borglum's passion for wildlife helped him to pick up on the finer points of form and contouring, which he would later hone through extensive formal studies.
It took Solon three years to leave the lifestyle he loved and move to Los Angeles and study art.
Here he went through the starving artist stage, living on oatmeal and picking up cash as a sidewalk artist.
Even when he became successful enough to move to Europe, he had to work his way over on a cattle boat.
Phippen Museum
Cyrus Edwin Dallin
This sculptor from Utah dealt primarily with large-scale native american imagery.
Dallin's incredible statues demonstrate with great care the elegant strength of the figures he admired.
Cyrus's historic sculptural artwork has come to commemorate many locations and occasions across the US.
Read about Venezuelan painters next.
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