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Guy Dill Sculptures

American, b. 1946

From sneaking into art classes to setting up a studio in an abandoned pier, Guy Dill’s journey toward becoming a celebrated contemporary American sculptor is anything but conventional.

Dill’s first love was the sea. Intending to travel the world by boat, the Malibu, California native began a career working for the U.S. Coast Guard during the Vietnam war. In his time off, he visited his brother, Laddie John Dill, who was attending the renowned Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and unofficially joined his life drawing classes after an instructor pressed him to bring a sketchpad. Dill enjoyed the classes and eventually accumulated enough work to submit to Chouinard for application.

After graduating from Chouinard with a bachelor's degree in painting in 1967, Dill put down the brush but continued to draw. Attracted to the Venice Beach lifestyle, Dill set up a studio with some fellow artists in an abandoned space on the Pacific Ocean Park (POP) pier. Located a few miles south of the now-famous Santa Monica pier, the POP pier slowly deteriorated under Dill’s feet while he began his sculpting career.

During the late 1960s, Irving Blum’s influential Ferus Gallery was the epicenter of L.A.’s art scene. Blum discovered Dill’s sculptures and put him in a group show with other exciting new talent from the area. Artists such as Ed Ruscha and Roy Lichtenstein had begun to make their names at the gallery, and the exposure proved important for Dill. Today he works in cardboard, glass, bronze, wood and more, and his large-scale abstract sculptures are known all over the world.

In 1972, Dill was awarded the Theodoron Award from the Guggenheim Museum in New York and First Prize at the Chicago Institute of Art’s “American Show” in 1974. Additional accolades include the California Heritage Museum Artist’s Award, the Stars of Design Lifetime Achievement for Art Award from the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles and more.

Dill’s work is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the Guggenheim and the Stedelijk Museum.

On 1stDibs, find authentic Guy Dill sculptures, prints and more.

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Artist: Guy Dill
Hayden
By Guy Dill
Located in Park City, UT
Powder coated aluminum. Guy Dill is a renowned American abstract sculptor; his bronze and aluminum sculptures, while not figurative, often suggest the lines, curves, and lithe swoops...
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2010s Contemporary Guy Dill Sculptures

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Crux
By Guy Dill
Located in Park City, UT
Born in California in 1946, Guy Dill graduated from the Chouinard Institute of Art, Los Angeles, CA with BFA Honors. Today he is one of the renowned contemporary masters of American ...
Category

2010s Abstract Guy Dill Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

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Guy Dill sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Guy Dill sculptures available for sale on 1stDibs. Not every interior allows for large Guy Dill sculptures, so small editions measuring 14 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Will Kurtz, Brian Usher, and Kevin Robb. Guy Dill sculptures prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $34,000 and tops out at $112,000, while the average work can sell for $79,650.

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