Michael Wilkinson is a sculptor, a poet, and a storyteller who elevates our conciousness and appreciation of life. As a pioneer in the art world, he sets new standards and breaks new ground with the sculpture medium of acrylic. Like the masters before him, his works will continue influence artists of subsequent generations.
Michael Wilkinson was born in Califonia and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He graduated high school at the height of the Vietnam War and enlisted in the air force to work as an illustrator. While stationed in Japan, Wilkinson studied Japanese architecture, the language and the arts. He learned Sumi brush painting, an ancient Japanese art form in which the artist paints an image with a limited number of single, simple brush strokes.
This art form combines "economy of line and effort. The simplicity and elegance create beauty that is captivating," says Wilkinson. There is a profound Japanese influence in Michael Wilkinson's work. He strives to achieve a graceful balance in his sculpture, which is the essence of the Japanese esthetic.
Upon Wilkinson's return to the States he enrolled at California Polytechnic State University to study architecture. He graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in Architectural Engineering, believing that it would be benificial to compliment his inherent artistic nature with a strong technical background.
After graduation he moved to Carmel, California to work for a prominet architect, Olof Dahlstrand, who was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright. Michael Wilkinson, a great admirer of Wright, describes him as "a man of great vision and integrity, an innovator who had the courage to fight for his art." Believing that he was at the beginning of a life-long career in architecture, Wilkinson set to work for Dahlstrand, whom he also came to admire. But in his spare time, Michael Wilkinson returned to sculpture. He built a sculpture studio in his home and ultimatley became consumed with a passion for sculpting. Realizing he was more suited to sculpture than architecture, and that sculpture was more suited to his desire to express powerful philosophical ideas in his work. Michael Wilkinson decided to change careers. The time had come for him to pursue his dream of becoming a sculptor.
The European masters of art history have laid the foundation for the fine art of today. Artists who have been inspired by the masters apply these influences and define them in their own new works of art. Wilkinson concluded that to advance his sculpting career, it would be essential to research and learn from the accomplished sculptors of the past. He traveled to Europe and embarked on a six-month sojourn to study such figurative sculptors as the ancient Greek masters Phidias and Praxiteles, the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo, and the 19th century sculptor Rodin. He saw passion in their art and was moved by their work. Reflected in Wilkinson's sculpture is the influence of these renowned artists.
The work of Michelangelo, especially, had a profound effect on Michael Wilkinson. He describes Michelangelo's work as, "a flawless and seamless integration of great universal themes with superlative artistry and craftsmanship." When one represents tension and intrigue with a single facial expression that awakens desires in the viewer, that sculpture is truly inspiring. David, by Michelangelo, is such a sculpture. Michael Wilkinson, like Michelangelo, has the power to arouse this degree of emotion with the ideas he chooses to express. He posses the ability to portray the human form with notable detail and precision.
Rodin, to a lesser extent, had an influence on Wilkinson's work. Wilkinson has said, "the power of Rodin's anatomy and the romantic love he portrayed with couples inspired me early on." Rodin, like Wilkinson, placed a tremendous amount of passion and desire, not only in the process of sculpting but also in the messages he conveyed. As a Romantic Realist, Wilkinson's work evokes powerful responses from the viewer. Michael Wilkinson, like Rodin, demonstrates his talent for communicating a story by inviting the viewer to experience captivating emotions through sculpture.
When Wilkinson returned from Europe he settled in New York City. New York's active art community is home to artists, art galleries, art schools and art foundries. Because Wilkinson's sculpture would be based upon the human figure, he knew that a solid understanding of anatomy was crucial to his art. He attended courses at the Art Students League and the New York Academy of Art, where he studied human anatomy and figure drawing under some of the most accomplished anatomists of our time: Robert Beverly Hale, Gustav Rebberger and Elliot Goldfinger.
Years earlier, while reading Sculpture Review, Michael Wilkinson saw an advertisement for The Joel Meisner Foundry. In the ad Joel Meisner told of his efforts to perfect a new bronze casting technique for a well-known sculptor. "Meisner's words spoke to my romantic nature and my quest for excellence in my work. I got the sense that this was a man I could work with," says Wilkinson. After working with the foundry for quite some time, Wilkinson started to show bronzes in Miesner's family-owned art gallery and a relationship developed between the Meisner family and Wilkinson. Both Meisner and Wilkinson had seen acrylic being used as a sculpture medium. They saw great potential with this new medium and in 1986, at Meisner's suggestion, cast the first acrylic sculpture in the Michael Wilkinson Collection, New Dawn (a predecessor of the same tile exits in bronze.) In this first casting Michael Wilkinson glimpsed the wide-ranging possibilities of the medium and decided to continue working with acrylic, exploring its untapped potential.
As an artist, Wilkinson continually defines and expands the potentialities of acrylic and with each new acrylic sculpture, he expresses new aspects of his personal philosophy. Wilkinson has said, "Beauty and greatness in the human soul inspire me%85.they are my spiritual fuel." For Wilkinson, meaning and content are vital to the passion he feels for his art. By creating sculptures based on important ideas and powerful feelings, Wilkinson relates to the viewer on an intellectually and emotionally - a bond forms when the viewer connects with a Michael Wilkinson sculpture.
In the 1980's Wilkinson began to exhibit his work in galleries in New York and Carmel. Since that time, Wilkinson has become one of the most collected artists of today. Wilkinson sculpture has been featured at Lineart in Gent, Belgium, Art Miami, and Art Chicago; all of the Art Expo's produced since 1985, as well as many one-man gallery shows. Michael Wilkinson's sculptures are treasured additions to numerous public and private collections throughout the world.
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