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Ad Code: 3
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An example of work by Richard MacDonald
Artwork images are copyright of the artist or assignee
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This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  A sculptor of realist figures, many of them engaged in sporting, Richard MacDonald is a resident of California where he has many pieces installed including a 15-foot monumental work for the Pebble Beach, California, Golf Resort to commemorate the history of that place.
In 2001, MacDonald was commissioned by the Mayor's Office of San Francisco to create an official bronze sculpture of Mayor Willie Brown, which will have it's unveiling later this year.
'Composing' is how Richard MacDonald describes the artistic process he takes when creating his bronzes. It's the exploration of spirit, beauty and form, similar to the process a concert pianist takes when laboring over notes, that drives MacDonald to further delve into the spirit of his subjects. Whether it be a dancer, mime, or athlete, his passion for his work is demonstrated in how he celebrates both the realism and expressive potential of sculpture.
The convergence of these elements is well exemplified in MacDonald's 'Flair Across America' bronze monument. Depicting a male gymnast in motion upon a symbolic ring, created especially for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, the 22-foot epic bronze sculpture was paraded across the United States in celebration of perpetual integrity and the universal belief in the unity of mankind and the hope that world harmony is within man's grasp.
Source: "Southwest Art", 7/1997, 'Richard MacDonald" by Lisa Crawford Watson
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Richard MacDonald is viewed by some to be the "foremost figurative sculptor working today." His bronze sculptures show the power, grace and beauty of the athletes, ballerinas, mimes and nymphs, that the artist chooses as his subjects.
Born in California, MacDonald was enrolled as a painter at Art Center School of Design in Pasadena, where he developed his penchant for the human form. The use of athletic musculature underneath skin and under clothes earned a name as an accomplished illustrator; with placements in the NFL and NBA Halls of Fame and the National Art Museum of Sport. From the two-dimensional surface of the drawing board to the three-dimensional, kinetic feel of clay, the artist evolved. Exploring the same musculature, now in three dimensions, that he used in his two dimensional works. He found them taking on an almost weightless feel. Once translated into bronze these works took on a dimension even he didn't expect, permanence.
MacDonald recently gained worldwide recognition for sculpting "Flair Across America" a monumental 26-foot tall bronze installed in Centennial Park, Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic Games. "The `Flair' celebrates the tenacity involved in the pursuit of excellence while promoting an appreciation for the arts within diverse communities." The trek that the artist embarked on brought this monument from his studio in California across the United States, stopping in cities to educate people on the importance of figurative art in today's society. "Flair" was modeled on Kurt Thomas, the athlete who popularized the "flair" move in Olympic competition. "It single-handedly brought figurative monumental sculpture back into the American art scene that one saw it as too sentimental. Too moving to be art."
Source:
Reed Van Horth, Robin Rile Fine Art
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