In this seven-day hands-on workshop, Arthur Gonzalez will address the challenges of sculpting the figure and discuss its role as a contemporary genre. By demonstrating his “inside-outside” method of handbuilding, Gonzalez will show students how to achieve their desired form and topography, a skill essential to conveying the subtleties of human expression and movement. Participants will have the opportunity to expand on fundamental knowledge of coil building and pinching as Gonzalez demonstrates his specialized advanced techniques he calls “chasing,” “bridging,” “volcanoing” and “corseting.” Throughout the week, Gonzalez will discuss concepts related to body language, asymmetry of the face and upper body, and believability over realism to aid in the execution of sculpting figures. By the end of the week, students will have completed at least one life-size bust and several maquettes.

Gonzalez will give a public artist talk on Wednesday,
August 9 at 7:30 pm in the Bray Resident Center.

Arthur Gonzalez received an MFA in sculpture in 1981 from the University of California, and an MA in painting in 1979 following the completion of a BA in 1977 from California State University, Sacramento. He studied under Robert Arneson, Manuel Neri and Wayne Thiebaud. He is an internationally exhibited artist with more than 35 solo exhibitions in the last 25 years. Gonzalez has received many awards, including two Virginia Groot Foundation awards; he is an unprecedented four-time recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts award; and he has been awarded many residencies, including at the Pilchuck Glass School and the Tainan University of Art in Taiwan. He is a full professor at the California College of the Arts in Oakland.

To learn more about Arthur Gonzalez, visit his website at arthurgonzalez.com.