By Bonnie Gangelhoff
Gregory Reade’s bronze sculptures range in subject matter from mythological to contemporary figurative works. Some figures are caught in a moment of contention, while others slouch in a state of repose. His interest in sculpture rests solely in creating figurative pieces, Reade says, because his artistic goal is to explore the human psyche. “I want to describe universal ideas and emotions common to everyone but not usually expressed in three dimensions,” he says. For example, inner turmoil expresses a point in his life when the fear of making wrong decisions almost paralyzed him. In his younger days, the California-based artist says he believed that there was a perfect solution to every problem. “Later I learned that a wrong decision can be made simply by taking too long to decide,” he explains. “So in the piece I have three states of mind vying with each other to decide a solution.”
Bronze is Reade’s material of choice because of its strength as well as its ageless quality, which evokes the feel of sculpture from classical times, he says. The artist relishes the idea that the long life of the material means his pieces will be around long after he is gone. Last year, Reade won a first-place award for sculpture in the Best & Brightest Show at the Scottsdale Artists’ School in Arizona. His work is on view next month at the Loveland Sculpture Invitational in Loveland, CO. For more information about Reade, visit www.gregoryreade.com.
Featured in “Artists to Watch” July 2005