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Georges Jeanclos
Peter Voulkos
Betty Woodman
From Clay to Bronze
July 29-August 26, 2006
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Frank Lloyd Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of bronze sculpture by three major artists. Georges Jeanclos (1933-1997) worked primarily in a figurative mode, and used the delicate and fragile medium of terra cotta to form his work. Translated to bronze by master craftsmen at a foundry in Paris, the works evoke the tragedy of loss and reconciliation. Peter Voulkos (1924-2002) cast many of his major works in bronze during the last four years of his life, merging his life-long work in clay with his knowledge of bronze casting. Betty Woodman (b.1930) is represented in the exhibition by a bronze bench, with a delightfully colorful patina.


Works by all three artists demonstrate the ways in which fired clay translates into bronze. While modeling wax, clay and plaster are often used by sculptors in making the models for bronze sculpture, it is of interest to see the ways that ceramic sculptors have made the transition to bronze. The time-honed skill and fluidity of the ceramic artist is obvious in bronze, and the remarkable fidelity of the translation is stunning to behold.


Although primarily known as a ceramic sculptor, Peter Voulkos maintained an interest in bronze casting for over forty years. Massive and rugged bronze works by Voulkos in bronze emphasize his strength as a builder of form. The large cast bronze sculptures are in the form of his "Stacks", the signature form of his massive sculptures. Voulkos' line quality, alternately sinuous and deeply incised into the bronze, is directly related to the surface of his ceramic sculptures.


Georges Jeanclos has been highly recognized in France for his deeply moving figurative work. Writing for Art in America, critic Leah Ollman noted "Jeanclos's work oscillates from memorial to artifact to celebration and back again. Human fragility emerges as a question, answered in part by tender, protective gestures between figures…" The powerful emotion of these figures is beautifully translated into bronze.


The exuberant and spontaneous ceramic artwork of Betty Woodman takes many different forms, from towering vases to wall murals, from triptychs of thrown and glazed ceramics to bronze fountains. Woodman has exhibited her work since the late 1960s and has had over eighty one-person shows. Her work is in over forty public collections. Woodman has long been recognized as one of the major figures in ceramic sculpture, and is also an accomplished artist in bronze and printmaking.