Northern California artist Richard Downs recently installed a large environmental sculpture commission,
The Family, earlier this year.
“‘The Family is a deeply meaningful testament to the vision of Richard Downs,’ writes the private collector who originally commissioned the piece. ‘A man and a woman are seated, hands joined. Behind them, two somewhat larger, less detailed and contemporary child-like figures emerge on either side...Behind the couple is a growing vine, scaling upward as the family itself is developing all the time...”
(Above, installation details, Richard Downs, 2015).
The Family is an imaginative example of Richard’s ability to transform raw emotion, memories and heavy metals into three-dimensional form. When Richard first received his original art commission, he drew upon childhood memory and decidedly incorporated his Father, who was a civil engineer and designer of steel bridges.
(Above, Outdoor sculpture planning, Richard Downs, 2015).
Richard Downs is now furthering his original commission into a one-of-a-kind, limited bronze edition. This soon to be released sculpture,
The Family, is made up of 27 cast parts made of bronze featuring artist etched details and hand applied patinas.
(Above, The Family maquette studies, 2015).
Each sculpture represents Richard’s ability to transform complex bronze material into a deeply connected sculptural work that celebrates human connectedness and the figural form.
(Above, Painting detail, sculptural planning and installation sketch).
You might be suprised to learn, this sculpture is composed of 27 different parts made up of 54 unique wax pieces, hand-textured by the artist, forged in bronze, puzzle-pieced together and affixed to a bronze base, hand-applied patina, and safely shipped to the art collector’s door.
The Family bronze table top sculpture by Richard Downs measures 16 x 11 x 8 inches with hand-applied textural elements and custom patinas and cast by the bronze sculpture team of
Frostad Atelier.
(Click here for purchase information).
“The Family” by Richard Downs is available in a numbered edition of 10 and shipping in early December of 2015. (Click here for purchase information). Additional reading:
Figural Sculpture,
Sculpture and Background.
(Above: 27 Unique pieces for each sculpture is individually wax cast and hand-prepared by Richard Downs, 2015).
