This was my first horse sculpture, inspired by a beautiful reproduction of a Chinese Gansu horse that I have had for more than thirty years. I love the form of that Chinese piece, the perfect balance of the majestic animal running–perhaps flying, if you follow Chinese mythology–on one hoof.
When I started this piece, I had actually planned on making a zebra, using this body but cutting the stripes out of the wax original so that they would actually be negative spaces in the finished bronze body. Once I had built the original in wax, however, I was worried that in cutting out the stripes, I might ruin the shape, so I made a second one. So perhaps we should call this the Insurance Horse…
But the Zebra worked beautifully, and I still had this horse, so I completed it in a rich, verdigris patina, mounting it on an onyx sphere, as if flying over the clouds, reconfiguring the idea that the Gansu horse flew as fast as a sparrow. The base below is varigated green marble, suggesting the Earth below.
It stands 18″ H x 12″ W x 8″ D.
Stay tuned for information on upcoming exhibitions of my work.