The Art Guide's Featured January 2008 Artist :: Gilbert V. Boro
Gilbert V. Boro
Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds
80-1 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT 06371
Tel: 860-304-3359
Fax: 860-434-5957
www.GilbertBoro.com
Gilbert Boro is a sculptor, architect, educator and international design consultant. He was born in New York City and has been involved in the arts since his boyhood. He has had a distinguished career, spanning more than forty years. He has received two traveling fellowships and had numerous visiting teaching positions, and has invested much of his time in nonprofit arts groups.
Mr. Boro's work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and purchased by individuals, corporations and foundations throughout the United States and in Europe.
Artist's Statement:
I seldom read "artist's statements." They do not seem to bear much resemblance or relevance to the artist's actual work, which for me evokes a sensory rather than an intellectual response.
For me, working in sculpture has been a compulsion rather than a possibility. I have spent many years exploring different art movements, studying sculptors from various schools of thought, and developing my own skills. These days I am working on a series of sculptures related to the many images that have accumulated in my mind over the years, starting when I was an art student and continuing over decades of dealing with the rigors of architecture (where the materials must yield to the design) and studying sculpture (where the design must yield to the materials).
I am a constructivist dealing in space and form. To me the challenge and joys of creation are equally related to visualization and execution. My approach requires understanding and executing the entire process of sculpture, which should not be hindered by technical incompetence or a need for outside help. Whether the work involves stone or wood carving, welding or metal working, structural integrity or the choice of textures and finishes, the sculptor must know the process.
I don't believe that art needs to solve or interpret problems for the public. What art should do is provide the best opportunity to retain or regain the creativity we all had as children, before we were programmed to function in a society that demands financial and social "success." When obtaining my Masters in Architecture, in order to be financially successful, the great Philip Johnson said, "Mr. Boro, congratulations on your fellowship. Personally, I think you are too talented to do housing and maybe architecture." It was not until 1986 that I realized "success" for me would be doing sculpture.
- Gilbert Boro