The genesis for Etrius came while I was woodcarving in Bali. A master carver had produced a remarkable Etruscan horse, and I was immediately struck by its aura of beauty and nobility. Once home, I resolved to create a horse of my own and capture the spirit of the Etruscan stallion.
As the piece developed I offset the proud chest and neck with a gentle extension of the rear leg. This gave the work its internal dynamic, a tension that gives life to the sculpture: the play between strength and grace.
Keeping the mouth soft and the eyes deep gives Etrius a stillness, a gentle downcast gaze. Perhaps he is meditating on wars past or those to come, as was the role of these horses.
Finally, in recognition of the ancient qualities inherent in all things Etruscan, and to infuse this temporal aspect in my own work, I allowed the sculpture to deconstruct itself by letting the clay dry out and crack. Armature wire revealed itself as clay fell off the sculpture, and at the appropriate time I cast the horse in bronze.
Through decomposition one observes the loss of certain details. I believe loss provokes desire through imagining what was once there. The horse can now be contemplated within a temporal or historical context, and the viewer is now positioned to contend with the notion of whether the will of the spirit shall prevail over the ravages of time.
I hope with Etrius I have elucidated the interplay between ancient, classical sculpture that signifies a collective memory and the very personal relationship between the viewer and a contemporary work of art. |
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