Richard Tosczak

Arethusa immerses herself in the Alpheus river - figurative, bronze statuette

2015

Canadian artist Richard Tosczak is known for his beautiful figurative sculptures. This bronze statuette of a nude female leaning as if against a wall, hands behind her back was first...

The elegant form of a nude female figure is captured in this sculpture by Canadian artist Richard Tosczak. This table-top piece is named after ‘Taygete’ one of the Pleiades--seven sister nature deities (nymphs) found in Greek mythology. She stands, head bowed, arms clasped around her neck as if in deep thought. Known for his beautiful figurative work, this piece retains the artist’s signature highly textured appearance and rich earthy patina. Tosczak’s pieces are first conceived on paper in quick pen and ink drawings. The spontaneity of this approach is evident in the almost abstract appearance of the sculpture. Edition one of eight. “What inspires/informs my work? In a word, observation. I notice things…a gesture…an accident.” Richard Tosczak Born in Belgium, Richard Tosczak studied philosophy and sculpture at the University of Alberta. At that time, Tosczak began working in steel and was influenced by a number of his professors who appreciated the work of a British abstract sculptor, Sir Anthony Caro considered one of the greatest sculptors of his generation. Further studies were pursued in France with another internationally acclaimed classic sculptor, Martine Vaugel...

"At the Water" is a larger free-standing bronze sculpture, suitable both for the inside and outside. Edition 18, signed, numbered and dated on the bottom. Certificate. The sculptress Susanne Kraisser is to be considered as part of the great modern figurative tradition. She was born in 1977 in Rosenheim, Southern Germany. She studied both at the Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg and the University of Arts in Bremen. She graduated with distinction in 2007 in Nuremberg and received her Diploma with distinction in 2008 in Bremen. She has won numerous awards and exhibits nationally as well as internationally. Artist Statement: For me, sculpture is particularly shape and material, volume and size, space, movement and statics. I focus on the ‘female body’, presenting it either as an intimate miniature or on a monumental scale – each time as a solitary figure. In terms of content, my work focuses on identifying and combining polarities, such as instability and strength, fragility and solidity, activity and passivity, movement and statics, balance and volume, and dependence and autarchy. I work predominantly with the materials bronze, aluminium and wood. The small miniatures are made from wax and are then cast in bronze as part of what is known as the wax smelting process. Large-scale pieces are similarly cast in aluminium or created directly out of wood. The various work processes and tools determine the appearance of the surface; for wax, it’s my hands, and for wood, it’s my chainsaw. Each material is a new challenge for me. My previous wood-sculpting studies involved respecting the material’s limits to create craft of solid quality in keeping with the material. But this is where the intense discussion and its limit become clear. I fight with the material, and a lot of things go wrong. It becomes my opponent, whose limits I test out and reset if necessary. Cautious movements requiring a lot of physical tension are maintained without losing their inner dynamics. Amidst the often harmonious external form is a harsh dissonance evidenced by the rough, fragmented design...

"Middle" is a popular free-standing bronze sculpture, suitable both for the inside and outside from established German mid-career sculptress Susanne Kraißer. Edition 18, signed, numb...