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.
$32,000
File Angel
By Guy Dill
Located in Boca Raton, FL
Guy Dill is an American sculptor noted for his monumental bronze and marble abstractions. He graduated with honors in 1970 from the Chouinard Institute of Art, Los Angeles, Californi...
Bronze
Price Upon Request
Pooja, sculpture by Guy Dill, abstract, contemporary, bronze sculpture, indoor
By Guy Dill
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Pooja, sculpture by Guy Dill, abstract, contemporary, bronze sculpture, indoor, outdoor Contact us with expected delivery times. Abstract sculptor GUY DILL is well-known and in suc...
Bronze
$2,400
H 16 in W 6 in D 5 in
Bronze and Steel Sculpture by David Kimball Anderson 'Green Bottle Ochre Seeds'
By David Kimball Anderson
Located in White Plains, NY
'Green Bottle Ochre Seeds' by David Kimball Anderson, 2022. Bronze, steel, and paint, 16 x 6 x 5 in. This sculpture features a square vase cast in bronze a...
Bronze, Steel
$7,455
H 19.69 in W 8.27 in D 11.82 in
Lotte- 21st Century Bronze Sculpture of a sitting Young Girl
By Wim van der Kraan
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Lotte 50 x 21 x 30 cm Bronze The theme van der Kraan likes most is to show the growing of young girls. Living in their own world. Like this girl watching ...
Bronze
$78,104
H 61.03 in W 39.38 in D 33.47 in
Boulder #4 by Tom Price - Rock-like Bronze Sculpture, Outdoor Art
By Tom Price
Located in Paris, FR
Boulder #4 is a sculpture by English artist Tom Price. This artwork can be customized— feel free to contact us for a quote. Tom Price’s artistic approach focuses on material explora...
Bronze
$92,054
H 33.47 in W 55.12 in D 53.15 in
Boulder #3 – The Tunnel by Tom Price, Rock-like Bronze Sculpture, Outdoor Art
By Tom Price
Located in Paris, FR
Boulder #3 – The Tunnel is a bronze sculpture by contemporary artist Tom Price, dimensions are 85 × 140 × 135 cm (33.5 × 55.1 × 53.1 in). This artwork is available on commission. 8 ...
Bronze
$8,556
H 23.23 in W 11.82 in D 11.82 in
Facile- 21st Century, Contemporary Italian Bronze Sculpture of a woman
By Eva Steiner
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Facile 59 x 30 x 30 cm bronze Facile is a bronze sculpture by Italian contemporary artist Eva Steiner. In her work she focuses on the gracefulness of women. Her sculptures of bronz...
Bronze
$4,130
H 9.85 in W 4.34 in D 3.15 in
Couple - 21st Century bronze sculpture of 2 People
By Antoinette Briet
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Antoinette Briet (Dutch artist) Couple 25 x 11 x 8 cm Bronze Antoinette Briet's sculpture can be called both a figurative and an abstract work of art. Her sculpted animals show thei...
Bronze
$4,141
H 19.69 in W 5.12 in D 3.94 in
Daniëlle- 21st Century Bronze Sculpture of a standing Young Girl
By Wim van der Kraan
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Daniëlle 50 x 13 x 10 cm Bronze The theme van der Kraan likes most is to show the growing of young girls. Living in their own world. Like this girl watching...
Bronze
$1,338
H 15 in Dm 15 in
Nature II : Abstract, Bronze, Wood Sculpture by Indian sculptor "In Stock"
By Pradip Mondal
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Pradip Mondal - Nature (II) - 15 x 15 inches Medium - Wood & Bronze Single edition. About the Artist and his work : Born : 1977 in West Bengal. Education : 2001-02 : BVA (Modellin...
Bronze
$199,000
H 84 in W 72 in D 24 in
Contemporary Cast Glass Sculpture, 'Geologic Screen Series' , 2024
By David Ruth
Located in Oakland, CA
The Geologic Screens Series The Geologic Screens are studies from the Colorado Cascade Mural. David pieced together bits of the original rock and ice castings to try various combinat...
Steel
$23,367
H 25.6 in W 23.63 in D 13.78 in
Wild Horse - 21st Century Contemporary Bronze Sculpture of a Horse
By Frans van Straaten
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Frans van Straaten Wilde Horse VII Bronze on bluestone pedestal H 65 cm W 65 cm D 35 cm Dutch artist Frans van Straaten (1963) should be called an artist of balance always searching for harmony between force and movement in combination with space. Because of the wide range in his art-education he has mastered the art of drawing, painting and sculpting technology. However, the classical plastic art of sculpture and modelling opens up the possibility for him to create his own language of sculpture in answer to his urge for art. Due to this style of sculpting, the preference for bronze is natural. After his study of sculpture at the Academy of Art in Rotterdam (1988), Frans van Straaten creates bronze sculptures in which he unites force and movement. Feeling and Emotion converted into Matter Sculpture is an experience of space combined with the challenge of the three-dimensional. The tension of space and movement are the themes, which Frans expresses in his sculptures. Summary it can be said that the power of life and being, the feeling and emotion by force and movement will be converted into matter. The experience of space is being expressed in the shapes and characters in each of Frans’ sculptures. His sculptures of bulls express explosive power while the horses find their strength in being elegant. Each sculpture recalls this way their own association and serves as a metaphor for a certain emotion. Feelings, which has inspired the artist for each sculpture. Powerful and Elegant Looking at the works of this artist, it becomes very clear that one of his most important sources is his background in art history. The Renaissance period as well as several Italian artists served as inspiration to Frans as a sculpture. For instance the expressions in Leonardo da Vinci’s artworks, and also Giovanni...
Bronze
$4,600
H 28.75 in W 10.24 in D 7.09 in
British Contemporary Sculpture by Philip Hearsey - Acanto IV
By Philip Hearsey
Located in Paris, IDF
Year 2016 73 x 26 high x 18 cm Bronze freely rotating on a scorched yew base. Series of individual variations Stamped with monogram signature and uniquely numbered 619A Parts of th...
Bronze
$3,800
H 25.2 in W 10.24 in D 4.73 in
British Contemporary Sculpture by Philip Hearsey - Onset
By Philip Hearsey
Located in Paris, IDF
Bronze freely rotating on a scorched oak base Edition of 7 variations Stamped with monogram signature and uniquely numbered 568, 2/7 The patterns in raised bronze are surrounded by o...
Bronze
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H 76 in W 47 in D 58 in
Navy, large abstract metal sculpture, white powder coated aluminum, vertical
By Guy Dill
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Navy, large abstract metal sculpture, white powder-coated aluminum, vertical Guy Dill is an American sculptor noted for his monumental bronze and marble abstractions.[1] His work is...
Metal
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H 71 in W 105 in D 31.5 in
Large Frieze by Guy Dill, contemporary abstract large scale outdoor sculpture
By Guy Dill
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Large Frieze by Guy Dill, contemporary abstract large scale outdoor sculpture
Steel
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H 52 in W 75 in D 33 in
Large Dorado by Guy Dill, abstract sculpture, outdoor, steel, powder coat
By Guy Dill
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Large Dorado by Guy Dill, abstract sculpture, outdoor, steel, powder coat
Steel