Skip to main content
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 12

Troy Williams
First Bite, female figure holding apple, garden of eden, bronze sculpture Williams

About the Item

First Bite,female figure holding apple,garden of eden,bronze sculpture Williams First Bite, female figure holding apple, garden of eden, bronze sculpture Expressing Situations and Beings in Human Form Sculptor Troy Williams unites the timeless and the contemporary in sculptures of rare beauty and meaning Beyond all the narrative potential of the three obvious physical dimensions of Troy Williams’ sculpture there are many other considerations that contribute greatly to the enjoyment, appreciation, and understanding of his entrancing 360-degree works of figurative art. Among these are the emotional responses and intellectual interpretations that first go into the artist’s creative process and then into every subsequent spectator’s viewings at least somewhat differently each time. Some artists insist on leaving these entirely up to each viewer, but Williams is glad to enrich the experience by inviting the viewer in for a little insight into the artist’s intention. Certain ambiguities and unintended provocations might otherwise arise, as Williams uses original combinations of materials or ideas in highly original ways. For the sophisticated clientele of Glenn Green Galleries Williams specializes in figurative and facial sculptures hewn from fallen woods he finds while running near his home in the mountains of north central New Mexico. Williams has in the past worked with exotic woods, but now avoids them in a desire to protect the people, plants, and animals that depend on a vibrant, healthy, and unexploited local ecosystems. Finding dead and downed wood also introduces an element of serendipitous chance into the sculptor’s process of selection and inspiration. Nature provides an exquisite mass of workable solids, surfaces, patterns, and curves in cottonwood and the many varieties of juniper this sculptor favors. Troy Williams simply rescues these from the elements and then elevates them to timeless treasures by relating them to themes that express our deepest nature. Awake to the most beautiful twists, turns, and striations already present in these found mediums, Williams is naturally and passionately drawn to every stage of freeing the underlying sculpture. Following the wood’s ingrained tendencies is always a creative guide for Williams. Growing up in an Indiana farming community, his dad a family practice doctor and his mother an artist, Troy has always felt an affinity for the earth and especially its mountains. He initially came west to study agriculture at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, attracted there by a setting where his athletic nature could find full expression. His interest in an agriculture career gave way to his love of the mountains. In order to continue living in them and enjoy the hiking, climbing, and running he also loved, Troy worked for several years in a solar business, progressing from manufacturing to installations to design. On a fortuitous errand for a cousin back home, Troy happened into silversmithing and began producing simple, hammered ear cuffs. At this point the artistic nature that he had earlier suppressed in favor of athletics began to emerge strongly, and he expanded into more complex designs as he learned and mastered goldsmithing and lapidary. Another quantum leap occurred when he made his first copper face for a pendant. He couldn’t wait to see the face on a larger scale and was eager for the challenge of learning another art. He began sculpting metal, then stone, then came upon wood as his medium of choice. Wood had immediate allure: scented, expanding, contracting, and seeming to breathe. Williams was seduced by its warmth, the play of light on the complexion of its grain, and the inherent life force so evident in wood. He also learned to coax creative advantage from some of wood’s pitfalls, like soft spots, tricky grains composed of woody xylem and softer phloem; and to avoid the conditions that make it splinter. A quality of segmentation or fragmentation characterizes Williams’s sculptures and provides great visual satisfaction along with intriguing thematic provocation. One is struck by the beautiful outlines that might never be apparent had Williams not removed segments or created interior voids expressly to reveal them. When sculpting a face, Williams focuses on aspects that are mask-like, floating, and alive with contours that might not be visible were the artist to sculpt the full head. The segmentation in his exquisitely refined female figurative works incorporates solids, hollows, and curvilinear elements for reasons that are at once artistic, philosophical, and experiential. Besides attending basic college art classes, to understand more fully the human figure, Troy spent a summer in Europe creating and studying figurative sculpture. He also spent time with an orthopedic surgeon, learning musculature by starting with a skeleton then building out the muscles individually in clay. He later spent more time studying with a forensic scientist, all towards having the correct figure as a foundation on which to exercise his artistic intention. In a stirringly powerful figurative sculpture called "Drought," Williams depicts a magnificently exquisite female torso, soft and vulnerable, eternally beautiful. A coil of rusty barbed wire spirals up around her as the polar opposite of her gentle, life-affirming nature. "I, like most everyone, was struck by the horrid images of the oppression of women coming out of the Middle East," Williams explains. "Women in their burkhas begging for food, being beaten, disfigured, even murdered for ‘family honor’," the artist explains. With those images hovering in mind, another female image struck me. In a coffee shop the cover of a regional tabloid showed a photo of a woman’s torso with the words ‘Roe v. Wade’ written on the flesh of her midriff. Yes, we are lucky to live in a country where women are less bound than elsewhere, but isn’t it also true that a segment of our society is for religious/moral reasons trying to bind women by taking away their right to choice? This is not a pro-choice statement on my part. The point is that we are all bound by our environment and/or society in many ways, and that throughout most of the world, women are bound much tighter than men. The original name for this piece was "Bound," but when looking at it, I get the same feeling as I do from looking out my back door. I look at those beautiful mesas with their red rock and green life and can feel a harshness about he air. The life giving energy of Mother Earth is also bound, not by wire or society, but by drought. So now I call this piece "Drought." Troy Williams’s sculptures are about situations and beings expressed in human form. Beautiful and filled with meaning, they reveal rare genius, and should not be missed.
More From This SellerView All
  • Listening, bronze sculpture, portrait of child, travertine base, contemporary
    By Troy Williams
    Located in Santa Fe, NM
    Listening, bronze sculpture, childs portrait, limestone base, contemporary limited edition bronze
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Travertine, Bronze

  • Listening, bronze sculpture, childs portrait, black granite base, green patina
    By Troy Williams
    Located in Santa Fe, NM
    Listening, bronze sculpture, childs portrait, black granite base, green patina 35 lbs
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Granite, Bronze

  • Eilene, bronze portrait, female by John Waddell, Arizona sculptor
    By John Henry Waddell
    Located in Santa Fe, NM
    Eilene, bronze portrait, female by John Waddell, Arizona sculptor Waddell was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1921 and moved to Evansville, Indiana at the age of ten. There he began to ...
    Category

    1970s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Reflections, bronze female bust sculpture contemplative peaceful Troy Williams
    By Troy Williams
    Located in Santa Fe, NM
    Reflections, bronze female bust sculpture contemplative peaceful Troy Williams Sculptor Troy Williams unites the timeless and the contemporary i...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze, Steel

  • Plains Indian Medallion, bronze, Nambe, Allan Houser, small life-time casting
    By Allan Houser
    Located in Santa Fe, NM
    Plains Indian Medallion, bronze, Nambe, Allan Houser, small life-time casting Allan Houser (Haozous), Chiricahua Apache 1914-1994 recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 1992. Allan Houser's father Sam, was part of the small band of Apaches who traveled with Geronimo and surrendered in southern Arizona in 1886. Allan's parents were imprisoned with that group in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. He was the first child to be born in freedom to those Apaches and a fluent speaker of the Chiricahua language. Allan Houser is an important artist in that he is of the culture he depicts in his artwork. Allan's parents would tell stories and sing songs recalling the experiences on the war path. This bronze edition is a life-time casting. Our gallery represented Allan Houser from 1974 until his passing in 1994 and were investors and provided quality control in the foundry process. Allan Houser's work is many international collections including the Georges Pomidou Centre, The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, The Dahlem Museum among others. Allan’s first bronze sculptures were started in the late 1960’s and were cast at Nambe Foundry. At the time the foundry was producing both Nambeware and was doing some sculptural foundry work. There was a fire at Nambe and they lost many of the molds for sculpture as well as their records. We acquired these works directly from Allan Houser. Allan Houser (Haozous), Chiricahua Apache (1914-1994) Selected Collections Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France * “They’re Coming”, bronze Dahlem Museum, Berlin, Germany Japanese Royal Collection, Tokyo, Japan “The Eagle”, black marble commissioned by President William J. Clinton United States Mission to the United Nations, New York City, NY *"Offering of the Sacred Pipe”, monumental bronze by Allan Houser © 1979 Presented to the United States Mission to the United Nations as a symbol of World Peace honoring the native people of all tribes in these United States of America on February 27, 1985 by the families of Allan and Anna Marie Houser, George and Thelma Green and Glenn and Sandy Green in New York City. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian, Washington, DC * Portrait of Geronimo, bronze National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C. * “Buffalo Dance Relief”, Indiana limestone National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C. *Sacred Rain Arrow, (Originally dedicated at the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, US Senate Building) “Goat”, “To The Great Spirit” - dedicated in 1994 at the Vice President’s Residence in Washington, D.C.. Ceremony officiated by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Tipper Gore. Oklahoma State Capitol, Oklahoma City, Ok * “As Long As the Waters Flow”, bronze Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK *Sacred Rain Arrow, bronze Fort Sill, Oklahoma *”Chiricahua Apache Family”, bronze Donated and dedicated to Allan Houser’s parents Sam and Blossom Haozous by Allan Houser and Glenn and Sandy Green The Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona *Earth Song, marble donated by Glenn and Sandy Green   The Clinton Presidential Library, Arkansas * “May We Have Peace”, bronze The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library, College Station, Texas *"Offering to the Great Spirit", bronze The British Royal Collection, London, England *Princess Anne received "Proud Mother", bronze in Santa Fe Allan Houser’s father Sam Haozous, surrendered at the age of 14 with Geronimo and his band of Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache people in 1886 in Southern Arizona. This was the last active war party in the United States. This group of Apache people was imprisoned for 27 years starting in Fort Marion, Florida and finally living in captivity in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Allan Houser was born in 1914. His artwork is an ongoing testimony to Native life in America – its beauty, strength and poignancy. Allan Houser is from the culture and portrayed his people in an insightful and authentic way. Because of the era in which he lived, he had a rare understanding of American Indian life. Allan was the first child born after the Chiricahua Apaches were released from 27 years of captivity. Allan grew up speaking the Chiricahua dialect. Allan heard his father’s stories of being on the warpath with Geronimo and almost nightly heard his parents singing traditional Apache music. Allan’s father knew all of Geronimo’s medicine songs. Allan had an early inclination to be artistic. He was exposed to many Apache ceremonial art forms: music, musical instruments, special dress, beadwork, body painting and dynamic dance that are integral aspects of his culture. His neighbors were members of many different tribes who lived in Oklahoma. Allan eagerly gained information about them and their cultures. Allan gathered this information and mentally stored images until he brought them back to life, years later, as a mature artist. Allan Houser was represented by Glenn Green Galleries (formerly known as The Gallery Wall, Inc.) from 1973 until his death in 1994. The gallery served as agents, advocates, and investors during this time. In 1973 the Greens responded enthusiastically to the abstraction and creativity in Houser’s work. They were impressed, not only with his versatility and talent but with the number of mediums he employed. His subject matter was portrayed in styles ranging from realism, stylized form to abstraction. With encouragement from the Greens, Houser at the age of 61, retired from his post as the head of the sculpture department at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1975 to begin working full-time creating his art. The next 20-year period was an exciting time for Allan, the gallery, and for the Green family. He created a large body of sculpture in stone, wood and bronze. For many years Glenn Green Galleries co-sponsored many editions of his bronzes and acted as quality control for the bronze sculptures according to Houser’s wishes. As both agents and gallery representatives, the Greens promoted and sold his art in their galleries in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona and in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They had bi-annual exhibits in their galleries to feature Houser’s newest work and sponsored and arranged international museum shows in America, Europe and Asia. They travelled for these events including a trip to Carrara, Italy to the famed quarries of Michelangelo and together co-financed and arranged the purchase of 20 tons of marble. A watershed event for Allan Houser’s career occurred in the early 1980’s when Glenn Green Galleries arranged with the US Information Agency a touring exhibit of his sculpture through Europe. This series of exhibits drew record attendance for these museums and exposed Houser’s work to an enthusiastic art audience. This resulted in changing the perception of contemporary Native art in the United States where Houser and Glenn Green Galleries initially faced resistance from institutions who wanted to categorize him in a regional way. The credits from the European exhibits helped open doors and minds of the mainstream art community in the United States and beyond. Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii was a supporter of Allan Houser’s artwork. We worked with Senator Inouye on many occasions hosting events at our gallery and in Washington D.C in support of the formation of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. and other causes supporting Native Americans. Allan Houser is shown below presenting his sculpture “Swift Messenger” to Senator Inouye in Washington, D.C.. This sculpture was eventually given to the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian’s permanent collection. It is now currently on loan and on display in the Oval Office. President Biden’s selection of artwork continues our gallery’s and Allan’s connection to the White House from our time working with Allan Houser from 1974 until his passing in 1994. “It was important for President Biden to walk into an Oval that looked like America and started to show the landscape of who he is going to be as president,” Ashley Williams...
    Category

    1970s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Beat of the Drum Paul Moore bronze Native American man with Drum, headdress
    By Paul Moore
    Located in Santa Fe, NM
    Beat of the Drum Paul Moore bronze Native American man with Drum, headdress Paul Moore was born in Oklahoma City a member of the (Creek) Muscogee N...
    Category

    1990s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

You May Also Like
  • New World Symphony 5/9
    By JD Hansen
    Located in Napa, CA
    jd Hansen creates art that explores the juxtaposition of vulnerability and strength using the human and animal form. Her work excavates the intricacies of human psychology, non-verba...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Copper, Bronze

  • Bigfoot 100 (with Red Pants)
    Located in Miami, FL
    Signed and numbered limited edition number 1 of 8. Idan Zareski is a French-Israeli artist born in Haifa, Israel. Life would take him through many countries, bearing witness to dive...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Mixed Media

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Weekend Getaway - Original Bronze Iron Metal Figurative Wall Hanging Sculpture
    By Mireia Serra
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    Mireia Serra creates sensuous bronze and iron sculptures showing the beauty of snapshots caught in life which are full of emotions and feelings along the life journey. Her metal artw...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Metal, Bronze, Iron

  • Captivated (14/18) - Inspiring Figurative Abstract Bronze Iron Wall Sculpture
    By Mireia Serra
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    Mireia Serra creates sensuous bronze and iron sculptures showing the beauty of snapshots caught in life which are full of emotions and feelings along the life journey. Her metal artworks capture the beauty of moments: A young lady challenged by the adventure of a new trip, a young man pondering about his dreams, a lost girl thinking about different options to know more about herself…Mireia vividly demonstrates how a piece of fine art sculpture could incorporate into our daily life, linking us with art that inspires and triggers us to contemplate life and relationship. Serra describes her artistic vision as “Figurative sculptures depicting contemporary everyday scenes. Reflect my inner world thus expressing moods and desires, feelings, joys and concerns stemming from my relationship with the world". This wall-mounted iron and bronze sculpture measures 5 inches tall, 9.5 inches wide, and 1 inch deep. This artwork is edition 14 of 18. A certificate of authenticity issued by the gallery is included. Free delivery is available for those in the local Los Angeles area, and affordable worldwide shipping is available for U.S. and international art collectors. Born in Barcelona in 1973, Mireia Serra's lifelong passion for sculpting was temporarily diverted by her parents' persuasion to pursue a career in fashion design. However, in 1998, she abandoned a lucrative role as a lingerie designer to follow her artistic calling and seek true fulfillment within the realm of fine arts. It was a transformative decision, allowing her to rediscover her true purpose and embark on a creative odyssey that continues to unfold to this day. In some of her present sculptures, the presence of elements from the fashion world such as cameras, texture, and detailed finishing of the clothes, and shoes are apparent. She graduated in 2002 from the Llotja School of Arts in Barcelona (the same school that took under its wing Antoni Gaudí, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miró), specializing in iron and bronze. Later she took an advanced sculpture portrait course taught by sculptor Jorge Egea at MEAM (Museo European d'Art Modern) in order to master her technique. Working as a full-time sculptor since 2003, Serra started to exhibit with galleries throughout Spain and landed her first solo shows and her first international art fair in Madrid in 2013. Since 2016 Mireia Serra has been exhibited in galleries and art fairs in Germany, Austria, France, Luxembourg, Sweden, Belgium, Italy, and Hong Kong. Her works have been represented by Artspace Warehouse since 2017. REPRESENTATION Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, USA EXHIBITIONS 2022 "Shifting Dimensions", Artspace Warehouse Gallery, Los Angeles, USA. “9 sculptors”, collective exhibition with Winegates Gallery, Leicester, UK. 2021 "The Real Presence", Artspace Warehouse Gallery, Los Angeles, USA. "Tierra desconocida", Galería Montsequi, Madrid. “The art of adventure”, solo exhibition with Eye Contemporary Art Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden. 2020 "Independent artist’s day", collective exhibition, Wingates Gallery, United Kingdom. “Inner world”, online solo exhibition, Eye Contemporary Art Gallery, Italy/Hong Kong. “The G project 21...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Metal, Bronze, Iron

  • Dreamer's Delight (3/18)
    By Mireia Serra
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    Mireia Serra creates sensuous bronze and iron sculptures showing the beauty of snapshots caught in life which are full of emotions and feelings along the life journey. Her metal artworks capture the beauty of moments: A young lady challenged by the adventure of a new trip, a young man pondering about his dreams, a lost girl thinking about different options to know more about herself…Mireia vividly demonstrates how a piece of fine art sculpture could incorporate into our daily life, linking us with art that inspires and triggers us to contemplate life and relationship. Serra describes her artistic vision as “Figurative sculptures depicting contemporary everyday scenes. Reflect my inner world thus expressing moods and desires, feelings, joys and concerns stemming from my relationship with the world". This wall-mounted iron and bronze sculpture is 9.5 inches tall, 9.5 inches wide, and 1 inch deep. This artwork is edition 3 of 18. A certificate of authenticity issued by the gallery is included. Free delivery is available for those in the local Los Angeles area, and affordable worldwide shipping is available for US and international art collectors. Born in Barcelona in 1973, Mireia Serra's lifelong passion for sculpting was temporarily diverted by her parents' persuasion to pursue a career in fashion design. However, in 1998, she abandoned a lucrative role as a lingerie designer to follow her artistic calling and seek true fulfillment within the realm of fine arts. It was a transformative decision, allowing her to rediscover her true purpose and embark on a creative odyssey that continues to unfold to this day. In some of her present sculptures, the presence of elements from the fashion world such as cameras, texture, and detailed finishing of the clothes, and shoes are apparent. She graduated in 2002 from the Llotja School of Arts in Barcelona (the same school that took under its wing Antoni Gaudí, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miró), specializing in iron and bronze. Later she took an advanced sculpture portrait course taught by sculptor Jorge Egea at MEAM (Museo European d'Art Modern) in order to master her technique. Working as a full-time sculptor since 2003, Serra started to exhibit with galleries throughout Spain and landed her first solo shows and her first international art fair in Madrid in 2013. Since 2016 Mireia Serra has been exhibited in galleries and art fairs in Germany, Austria, France, Luxembourg, Sweden, Belgium, Italy, and Hong Kong. Her works have been represented by Artspace Warehouse since 2017. REPRESENTATION: Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, USA EXHIBITIONS 2022 "Shifting Dimensions", Artspace Warehouse Gallery, Los Angeles, USA. “9 sculptors”, collective exhibition with Winegates Gallery, Leicester, UK. 2021 "The Real Presence", Artspace Warehouse Gallery, Los Angeles, USA. "Tierra desconocida", Galería Montsequi, Madrid. “The art of adventure”, solo exhibition with Eye Contemporary Art Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden. 2020 "Independent artist’s day", collective exhibition, Wingates Gallery, United Kingdom. “Inner world”, online solo exhibition, Eye Contemporary Art Gallery, Italy/Hong Kong. “The G project 21...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Metal, Bronze, Iron

  • Hybrid 14
    By Jennyfer Stratman
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    There is a metaphorical interplay between the natural imagery international artist, Jennyfer Stratman, uses and its multiple meanings. While the human figure features strongly, it is...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Metal, Bronze, Enamel

Recently Viewed

View All