Steve Kestrel, Drought, Colorado schist riverstone, sandstone, slate, 10 x 44 x 16.
At this year’s Masters of the American West Art show at the Autry Museum, the award for exceptional artistic merit in sculpture went to Steve Kestrel for SOLE OF THE ROCK. A breathtakingly realistic representation of a Pacific rock sole resting on the rippling sands of the ocean bottom, the work was directly carved by hand on river stone from California’s Central Coast and is mounted on a hidden stainless-steel stand that rotates to enable the viewer to appreciate it from every angle.
The piece speaks with simple eloquence of the natural world’s beauty and its fragility—a theme ever-present in Kestrel’s work since he first committed to sculpting full-time in 1982 at the age of 34. Since then his sculptures have won top awards and found places in the permanent collections of 15 museums nationwide. His approach may best be defined for its impeccable attention to detail and its responsiveness to each piece of stone he carves. “I try not to repeat myself or have a style that’s recognizable,” he says.
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- Steve Kestrel, Pondhawks at Waterline, Colorado andesite riverstone/gold leaf, 5 x 13 x 12.
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- Steve Kestrel, Sole of the Rock, California riverstone, 7 x 28 x 20.
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- Steve Kestrel, Butterfly & Bitterroots, Colorado granite riverstones, 18 x 33 x 26.
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- Steve Kestrel, Rock Squirrel Nestingstone, Colorado granite riverstone/slate base, 8 x 15 x 12.
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- Steve Kestrel, Over the Rainbow, Wyoming granite/slate base, 8 x 39 x 10.
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- Steve Kestrel, Tailspin, Colorado andesite riverstone/slate base, 24 x 26 x 12.
Lately Kestrel has been feeling an ever-more-pressing urgency to deliver meaning through his sculptures. From the spacious studio near the home he shares with his wife Cindi on their 62-acre property west of Fort Collins, CO, have been coming sculptures that, beyond their undeniable beauty and mastery, also embody hard-to-ignore messages. One prime example, appearing in this year’s Prix de West Invitational in Oklahoma City: his recently completed sculpture of a toad sitting on a dry river bed, titled DROUGHT. Concludes Kestrel, “I don’t want to be an artist who is fiddling while Rome burns.”
Kestrel is represented by Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; Simpson Gallagher Gallery, Cody, WY; Claggett/Rey Gallery, Vail, CO; and Davis & Blevins Gallery, Saint Jo, TX. –Norman Kolpas
This story appeared in the May 2021 issue of Southwest Art magazine.
All photos by Jafe Parsons.