home
about
artists
exhibitions
press
contact
purchase |
|||||||||||||||||
|
RICHARD L. MINNS
“CALL FOR PEACE”
BIBLICAL SCRIPTURE ISAIAH 2:4
ARTIST’S INTERPRETATION “My sculpture is of a determined, bearded, Herculean-muscular blacksmith, pounding a symbolically large silver sword into a ploughshare. Two finished ploughshares are strategically placed in the ground behind him. The blacksmith is cast in bronze with a rich black Rodin-style patination. The sword and the Ploughshares are cast in aluminum, then highly polished. The silver Sword spreads out dramatically reflecting light in contrast to the dark ground. The silver ploughshares in contrast to the dark ground serve to frame the sculpture like the frame on a painting.” “This sculpture is the closest I have come so far to capture the style, technique, casting and patination of Auguste Rodin.” “I only hope that you enjoy owning this sculpture half as much as I enjoyed creating it.” Richard L. Minns
DESCRIPTION OF SCULTPURE When it looks like Richard has reached the top of his creative powers, and considering his age, it would be logical that he slow down his production and start “taking it easy”. However, he continues to defy time and logic, getting better by-the-day and even increasing his output by-the-day. At this time, it is appropriate that we repeat the words of the Sculptor and Gallery Owner Leon Bronstein, written 14 years ago when Richard began his career in sculpture. “I met Richard Minns when he first made Aliyah and moved to Israel. An extremely muscular, tanned American, bursting with life and vitality, who looked 25 years younger than his actual age. Richard had come to my gallery in Caesarea to see my sculptures. He told me that he liked my sculptures, and he bought one. That was the beginning of our friendship. Richard had trained in painting and sculpture at the Hampstead Academy in London and then at Avni Art Institute in Jaffa, Israel. He was in search of a Sculpture Academy capable of furthering his desire to excel in anatomical sculpture. It was my pleasure to introduce Richard to my friend and colleague David Zundelovitch, the founding director of Israel’s BASIS SCHOOL, a school run by some of the finest Russian sculptors I have known. I have been a professional sculptor for over 30 years and I exhibit and sell my sculptures all over the world, but the art of sculpture is a continual learning process, so, when I had some extra time (as the result of the second Intifada), I spent a year at BASIS to re-hone my skills, and I worked side-by-side with Richard. Actually, I was his translator since Russian is my native language. Richard soared at the Basis School, completing the five-year course in two years. I have never seen someone of any age progress so fast. Although he started sculpture late in life, Richard was born to be a sculptor. I now share two large studios with Richard in Hadassah Neurim, overlooking the beautiful breaking water of the Mediterranean Ocean. I have watched Richard develop as a sculptor. I see him work every day. When Richard works, he works with intense, absolute concentration. He literally becomes part of his sculpture, and nothing else exists. We can be in the same studio all day and unless Richard needs something, not a word is said. It is as if his very soul is captured in his creation. He becomes its willing prisoner, and his soul will not be set free until the sculpture is finished. Like the Old Masters, Richard knows and understands anatomy and he literally worships the human body. He is passionate, demanding, and his whole personality goes into his sculptures. Richard has created his own sculptural language: realistic and physical, highly charged with emotion and movement, conveying sexuality in the way of Michelangelo, Rodin and Bourdelle.” “CALL FOR PEACE” demonstrates Richard’s mastery of anatomy and the triumph and spectacle of muscles in movement. The Blacksmith is the epitome of determination and raw POWER. Since Richard has started combining his unparalleled bronze castings with castings in Aluminum, Brass and Stainless Steel, he has brought his creation, which would have been at home in Rodin’s Paris Gallery or in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, to the most modern, contemporary setting. Every inch of this very Rodin-esque sculpture, from the blacksmith’s head to his toe to the huge hammer posed over his head ready to strike with Herculean force and power, convey the total spectrum of human emotion. We believe this sculpture will become a Collectors’ Classic.
|
|||||||||||||||||
 artist
return |
|
||||||||||||||||
