Guardian
Located in San Luis Obispo, CA
San Francisco Bay Area artist Michelle Gregor creates sculpture in high fire ceramic and bronze.
2010s Feminist Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
Guardian
Located in San Luis Obispo, CA
San Francisco Bay Area artist Michelle Gregor creates sculpture in high fire ceramic and bronze.
Ceramic
Magnolia
Located in San Luis Obispo, CA
Considered a leading figure in the second generation of Bay Area Figuration, Michelle Gregor is a multifaceted artist who works in clay, bronze, paint and drawing media, handling eac...
Ceramic
Traveler
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Achillea
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Antibes
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Alexandria
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Aveline
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Artemisia
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Elysium
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Izmir
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Izola
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Paloma
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Sequoia
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Tangier
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Valencia
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Suffragette III
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Glaze
Anacapa
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Clay, Glaze
Thirteenth Night
Located in San Luis Obispo, CA
Considered a leading figure in the second generation of Bay Area Figuration, Michelle Gregor is a multifaceted artist who works in clay, bronze, paint and drawing media, handling eac...
Ceramic
Elodie
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Slip, Glaze
Kythira
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Clay, Glaze
Thera
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Clay, Glaze
Elbe
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Clay, Glaze
Eme
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Clay, Glaze
Repose
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Clay, Slip, Glaze
Suffragette II
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Glaze
Traveler in Orange
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Glaze
Pergamon
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Cephalonia
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Glaze
Venice
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Glaze
Amalfi
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Glaze
At the Bridge
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Glaze
Palace of Leaves
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Over time, the human figure has become one of Gregor’s most important vehicles. “The figure has served as the best method of transport throughout my many years of practice,” Gregor n...
Ceramic, Clay, Glaze
At the Dance
Located in Mill Valley, CA
A ceramic sculpture of a woman figure at the dance.
Ceramic
Figurative sculptures mix reality and imagination, with the most common muse being the human body. Animals are also inspirations for these sculptures, along with forms found in nature.
While figurative sculpture dates back over 35,000 years, the term came into popularity in the 20th century to distinguish it from abstract art. It was aligned with the Expressionist movement in that many of its artists portrayed reality but in a nonnaturalistic and emotional way. In the 1940s, Alberto Giacometti — a Swiss-born artist who was interested in African art, Cubism and Surrealism — created now-iconic representational sculptures of the human figure, and after World War II, figurative sculpture as a movement continued to flourish in Europe.
Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon were some of the leading figurative artists during this period. Artists like Jeff Koons and Maurizio Cattelan propelled the evolution of figurative sculpture into the 21st century.
Figurative sculptures can be whimsical, uncanny and beautiful. Their materials range from stone and wood to metal and delicate ceramics. Even in smaller sizes, the sculptures make bold statements. A bronze sculpture by Salvador Dalí enhances a room; a statuesque bull by Jacques Owczarek depicts strength with its broad chest while its thin legs speak of fragility. Figurative sculptures allow viewers to see what is possible when life is reimagined.
Browse 1stDibs for an extensive collection of figurative sculptures and find the next addition to your collection.