There is a lot of superb contemporary realism being made these days; this article by Allison Malafronte shines light on a gifted individual.

For more than 15 years, Fan Yu (b. 1985) was a successful groomer and handler of show dogs in competitions and seminars around the world. In 2009, little did he know that his innate artistic talent was about to intersect with his current career and lead him on a new path of creating clay and bronze sculptures of dogs.

Fan grew up in China’s culturally rich Imperial City, Beijing, in a visually sophisticated family. His parents dedicated most of their lives to Chinese classical architecture and exposed Fan to aesthetics at an early age. As a child obsessed with animals, he often accompanied his father to the zoo with a sketchbook in hand, and he amassed a large collection of animal books to sketch from as well.

As he got older, Fan realized the pressures of the Chinese education system didn’t suit him, so he pursued other paths. When an injury kept him bedridden for half a year, he began learning about purebred dogs through a book his father had bought him. Once recovered, Fan took a dog show handling class in Beijing and slowly began entering the profession.

In 2009 Fan created his first sculpture of the striking Kerry Blue Terrier “Mick” — the winner of several Best in Show awards — to present to Mick’s professional handler, Bill McFadden, who has long inspired him. Fan’s intimate understanding of the canine spirit, attained through many years of grooming and handling, allowed his hands to sculpt with informed ease, and the results were not only eye-opening for him but also for the public.

He began receiving numerous inquiries and commissions from owners, breeders, and kennel clubs worldwide. Clearly Fan had found his niche and started dedicating more time to his new passion, finally leaving the world of professional dog handling in 2017. “The hustle and bustle, triumphs, and frustration of my dog show career inspired me to follow my intuition, and once that intuition was awakened, I just followed the momentum,” the artist says.

Today Fan resides in Claremont, California, with his wife, Amy, and his sculptures are celebrated both in the dog show community and in the field of fine art. Particularly rewarding is the fact that, every day, Fan gets to create art that is a culmination of his lifelong interests and passions.

“The loyalty, kindness, simplicity, and directness I see in dogs’ eyes has always moved me,” the artist explains. “Every time I finish a sculpture, I feel like it has also sculpted a piece of my inner soul. As time passes, the dogs have sculpted me into who I am. In a sense, we are one.”

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May 20-22, 2025: Visit the Plein Air Convention & Expo’s robust pop-up art gallery at the Nugget Casino Resort in Reno, Nevada, where hundreds of artists, including our master faculty, will have studio and plein air works on display and ready to purchase. Register for the full event at PleinAirConvention.com now.

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Heather Arenas says: “Paved Roads” is a 40″x30″ oil painting on cradled birch that draws viewers into a dynamic scene within an art museum. It captures a shared experience of art appreciation, featuring an audience focused on a ‘Dot’ who is acting as docent. The gallery walls display two works honoring influential female artists: Mary Cassatt and Elizabeth Norse.

This work is part of the ongoing Museum Series, which explores the interactions and connections formed within art spaces. The artist’s unique approach to the series lies in the inclusion of the ‘Dot’ character, who serves as a conduit between the observed art and the observer, weaving a personal narrative through the lens of historical inspirations. This piece celebrates the pioneering spirit of female artists who have paved the way in a traditionally male-dominated field, offering a vibrant tapestry of art history and appreciation.

To see more of Heather’s work, visit:
Website 

Chelsie Nicole Murfee’s pastel portraits are intimate and emotional, capturing the essence of her subjects with remarkable detail. Blending realism with subtle character, her work goes beyond a journalistic approach, creating powerful, personal connections with the viewer.

To see more of Chelsie Nicole Murfee’s work, visit:
Website 
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Karen Ann Hitt’s “Hopes Thundering” began in the keys of Florida on location where Karen Ann went to give their 45′ RV a test run. Painting abruptly ended on the account of severe weather. Next, “Hopes Thundering” became the demo on Paint School Live with Eric Rhoades 3500 miles away in the Eastern Sierras. It withstood a construction zone during the demo, has traveled cross country and was finally able to be completed, surviving more severe weather. Its next journey was traveling from the Eastern Sierras back home in SW Florida. One of the more traveled paintings, its next stop is WOAW 55th Annual National Juried Exhibition.

Available through artist.

To see more of Karen Ann Hitt’s work, visit:
Website 

Angela Powers: In my art, no matter the subject, I am interested in capturing fleeting moments with an impressionistic, painterly touch, transforming everyday scenes into vibrant expressions of light, color and emotion.
Pet portraits by commission.

To see more of Angela’s work, visit:
Website 

Eric Tardif: Eric Tardif was born in northern Quebec, in the French-speaking part of Canada. He studied applied ecology before turning to sculpture. It was during his sculpture courses that he came up with the idea of linking the dimensions of movement and space in the single material of wood.

His wood sculptures capture the elegant and graceful movements of birds through abstract expressions, but unlike most abstract art, Tardif’s designs draw from a
lifetime of close observation.

To see more of Eric’s work, visit:
Website 

There is a lot of superb contemporary sculpture being made these days; this article by Allison Malafronte shines light on a gifted individual.

Zoe Dufour (b. 1990) is a sculptor who creates unconventional compositions that capture the powerful dance between the physical and the philosophical. “There is a strong dialogue between practice and thinking, a direct relationship between the hand and head,” the artist explains. “This balance is echoed everywhere in nature and is a constant source of inspiration. The potential for tactile, emotional, and physical connections among objects, space, people, and nature is what draws me to sculpture.”

Dufour continues, “Sculpting gives me a dynamic framework to engage with the world. My practice is a conscious study of nature, people, and animals, born of affinity, love, and curiosity. This study allows me to become more aware of my perceptions and biases so that I can better understand our world as it exists, in reality. As I sculpt, I am balancing intuitive response and rational assessment. Ultimately, I want to sculpt to create art suspended between how we experience the world and what we think we know about the world.”

Originally from Thailand, Dufour studied for five years at the Grand Central Atelier in New York City, where she learned to sculpt primarily in clay and to cast in bronze. More recently, she has been experimenting with ceramic sculpture, a medium she finds fascinating for its challenges and chemistry-based process. “The material science involved in producing ceramic work is much more rigorous than anything I’ve encountered in traditional sculpture,” she says. “Projecting results that will occur when you combine various clay bodies and glazes to particular temperatures and atmospheres in a kiln feels primal, magical, and scientific all at once.”

Illustrated here is “Ray,” a sculpture that shows a man surrounded by masked versions of himself, either whole or partial. Created in ceramic stoneware, 18-carat gold luster, and steel, these gilded reflections represent the gradations of influence on a person’s identity over a lifetime. “In geometry,” the artist notes, “a ray is part of a line that has a fixed starting point but no end point. One example is a sun ray. ‘Ray’ was sculpted as I thought about the many iterations of self we pass through from birth, and the many outside influences that shape us in our indeterminate lifetime.”

In 2021, Dufour was sculptor-in-residence at the national historical park dedicated to Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907) in Cornish, New Hampshire. For the better part of six months, she worked on ambitious life-size compositions while studying the artistry of one of America’s greatest sculptors. Following are some of the pieces she worked on while there:

View more artist and collector profiles here at FineArtConnoisseur.com.

Nedra Matteucci Galleries is proud to announce “Reflections of a Sculptor: The Life and Work of Michael Naranjo.” It will serve as a celebration of the artist’s many influential decades as a sculptor and will also mark his 80th birthday. The show will feature works from all phases of Naranjo’s career, including all sizes and subject matter.

Michael Naranjo was born in Santa Clara Pueblo in 1944 and grew up in Taos, New Mexico. His mother, Rose Naranjo, who was a notable potter herself, noticed his early talent and fostered in him a love and ambition for art. However, while serving in Vietnam, Naranjo was the victim of a grenade attack that stole his sight and much of his right hand—but it did not steal his determination.

For over 50 years, Naranjo has taught people to see art in a new way, inviting viewers to touch his work and experience it as he does. His work and story have also inspired world leaders and dignitaries. Twice invited to the White House, first by President Nixon and later President Clinton, Naranjo also had the honor of gifting a cross to Pope John Paul II in Rome. On this visit, a scaffold was erected around Michelangelo’s “David,” allowing Naranjo to “see” it through touch.

Created from memory without use of his right hand or any tools, Naranjo’s subjects vary from hunting scenes and maidens to animals and mythological creatures. His works are displayed in the Vatican, the White House, the Heard Museum, and more. Naranjo also received the LIFE Foundation’s Presidential Unsung Hero Award and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

“Reflections of a Sculptor” is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view Michael Naranjo’s masterpieces and to honor his contributions to the art world. The show opens August 10 and runs through August 30, 2024 at Nedra Matteucci Galleries in Santa Fe.

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Still pursuing his artistry after 65 years, George R. Anthonisen is the subject of a retrospective at the James A. Michener Art Museum.

“Meditations on the Human Condition” features more than 40 figurative sculptures (primarily in bronze), as well as maquettes and frescoes, displayed in the museum’s galleries and garden. Through his art, Anthonisen investigates universal themes related to people’s capacity to destroy, create, question, and make noble choices; he is also admired for his evocations of the female form’s elegance and strength.

Born in Boston in 1936, he spent his youth in Vermont, where he was tutored by Elizabeth Clark Gunther, a landscape architect whose husband was the architect and painter John F. Gunther.

In 1955, while stationed in Europe with the U.S. Army, Anthonisen first visited the Louvre, where he was impressed by such iconic sculptures as the “Nike of Samothrace,” “Venus de Milo,” and Michelangelo’s “Two Slaves.”

He later studied art at the University of Vermont, then in New York City at the National Academy of Design and Art Students League. In 1967 Anthonisen enrolled at Dartmouth College’s medical school so that he could study human anatomy, and since 1971 he has lived in Bucks County near Doylestown.

Exhibition Details at a Glance:
George R. Anthonisen
James A. Michener Art Museum
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
michenerartmuseum.org
Through October 13, 2024

The J. Paul Getty Museum presents Camille Claudel, an exhibition showcasing nearly 60 sculptures by one of the most daring and visionary artists of the late 19th century. On view at the Getty Center through July 21, 2024, the exhibition seeks to reevaluate Claudel’s work and affirm her legacy within a more complex genealogy of modernism.

A trailblazing artist working in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Claudel defied the social expectations of her time to create forceful sculptures of the human form. Her innovative artworks treat the universal themes of childhood, old age, love, and loss with an expressive intensity in a variety of genres, materials, and scales.

“A pioneer for women artists of the time, in a short but extraordinary career, Claudel established herself as one of the most important sculptors of the late 19th and early 20th-century Europe,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the Getty Museum. “Revered in France, and now widely sought after by museums around the world, her deeply moving images of the human body are one of the high points of romantic sculpture in Europe, and I am sure will be greatly admired by our visitors and especially the artist community.”

Claudel’s career has often been interpreted through her dramatic personal life, which involved a complicated relationship with her mentor, Auguste Rodin, and mental health issues resulting in a 30-year confinement in a psychiatric institution. While French collectors and critics immediately recognized Claudel’s talent, her art remains little known outside of France.

Organized chronologically and thematically, the exhibition will invite visitors to experience a diverse array of sculptures Claudel created during her career and many of the masterpieces that earned her much success.

“Claudel excelled at capturing the likeness of her subjects, depicting individuals at every stage of life with powerful emotion and empathy,” says Anne-Lise Desmas, senior curator of sculpture and decorative arts at the J. Paul Getty Museum. “The support and success she experienced with collectors, fellow artists, and journalists during a time when few women artists were widely regarded is testimony to her rare talent and ceaseless creativity.”

Claudel impressed critics with compositions that pushed the boundaries, such as “The Waltz”—a dynamic scene of two lovers surrendering to a dance. The first iteration Claudel created of the sculpture will be on view—a unique bronze cast with complex, openwork draperies or “veils” swirling behind the figures. In response to demand from collectors, Claudel produced several inventive versions of the couple at a smaller scale, including a few bronzes that will be on view to juxtapose their varied patina effects with brown, green, and gilded surfaces.

Another masterpiece in the exhibition is “Age of Maturity,” on loan from the Musée d’Orsay. One of her most ambitious sculptures, the three large figures depict life’s tragic journey with Old Age leading Middle Age forward, beyond the grasp of a kneeling, abandoned Youth. When it was exhibited, a critic declared, “We can no longer call Mademoiselle Claudel a student of Rodin; she is a rival.”

For more details: getty.edu