Bruce Beasley American, b. 1939

Known for being the preeminent godfather in the use of digital technology in sculpture, Bruce Beasley's sculptures originate in digital three-dimensional design software and virtual reality, allowing him to devise his forms without the constraints of gravity. The shapes are later translated into solid bronze with sumptuous patinas and the sculptures as much explore the simple beauty of shape as they do mass and geometry.

 

"I've always held the belief that fine art is the vision of the artist and not defined by the tool of production. These works use technology that best allows me to investigate and communicate what has fascinated me for over sixty years - the aesthetic and emotional potential of complex shapes in space."

 Bruce Beasley

 

Today, Beasley is recognized as one of the most noteworthy and innovative sculptors on the American West Coast. He discovered his natural affinity with metal at an early age and won a prize in a national metalworking contest aged 15. His first bronze casts were executed at Dartmouth College before he transferred to the University of California, Berkeley art department in 1959, a time at which Berkeley was seen to be the epicentre of a sculptural revival. He then joined Peter Voulkos, Harold Paris and foundry-man Donald Haskin to build the Garbanzo Works, a foundry in West Berkeley where they created major works in cast bronze and aluminium.