Anthony Gauslin
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1959, Reno, Nevada
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2009 Flora & Fauna, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Covered with bark-like encrustation, prehistoric fossil material from Siberia and Alaska comes to the artist in its most elemental form. Once the rough, outer layer is removed, the ancient ivory, originally white, will reveal a wide variety of discolorations due to the slow absorption of minerals from where it lay buried for a minimum of eleven thousands of years. The minerals, primarily iron, result in a myriad of rich mocha colors. Because museums have all the intact mammoth tusk they want, fragments are available.
Since 1981, after viewing modern mammoth tusk carvings at the Renaissance Faire in Navaro, California, Gauslin was immediately confident of his ability to create art in this form. "Over the next five years I considered carving only a hobby. After two back-to-back sell-out shows in 1986 however, I decided to attempt a full time career as an artist. The very first thing I carved was fossil ivory and to this day my fascination with this remarkable material has only grown.”
Gauslin is fascinated by detail and appreciates substance expressed subtly in art. An old hiker leaning on a staff or a Native American brave are the type of subjects he endeavors to capture. That, and nature, depicted in its simple purity — the frailty of a decomposing leaf or the intense gaze of a lion. “After only a few minutes of contemplation, often without having drawn on the material, I charge in,” says Gauslin. “What exhilarates me is the spontaneity of the moment.” The average time required to complete a piece is between eight to twenty hours. The “chisel” used in the execution of his miniature sculptures is a dentist type of electric tool called a Foredom. In the final stage, before sanding and polishing, watercolor, due to its translucent quality, is used to accentuate details. Once a piece is finished it is signed, dated, encoded, logged and photographed. Finally, using museum quality materials, Gauslin designs and constructs suitable framing. An original A. E. Gauslin is produced entirely by the artist without the help of an assistant.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2009 Flora & Fauna, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Covered with bark-like encrustation, prehistoric fossil material from Siberia and Alaska comes to the artist in its most elemental form. Once the rough, outer layer is removed, the ancient ivory, originally white, will reveal a wide variety of discolorations due to the slow absorption of minerals from where it lay buried for a minimum of eleven thousands of years. The minerals, primarily iron, result in a myriad of rich mocha colors. Because museums have all the intact mammoth tusk they want, fragments are available.
Since 1981, after viewing modern mammoth tusk carvings at the Renaissance Faire in Navaro, California, Gauslin was immediately confident of his ability to create art in this form. "Over the next five years I considered carving only a hobby. After two back-to-back sell-out shows in 1986 however, I decided to attempt a full time career as an artist. The very first thing I carved was fossil ivory and to this day my fascination with this remarkable material has only grown.”
Gauslin is fascinated by detail and appreciates substance expressed subtly in art. An old hiker leaning on a staff or a Native American brave are the type of subjects he endeavors to capture. That, and nature, depicted in its simple purity — the frailty of a decomposing leaf or the intense gaze of a lion. “After only a few minutes of contemplation, often without having drawn on the material, I charge in,” says Gauslin. “What exhilarates me is the spontaneity of the moment.” The average time required to complete a piece is between eight to twenty hours. The “chisel” used in the execution of his miniature sculptures is a dentist type of electric tool called a Foredom. In the final stage, before sanding and polishing, watercolor, due to its translucent quality, is used to accentuate details. Once a piece is finished it is signed, dated, encoded, logged and photographed. Finally, using museum quality materials, Gauslin designs and constructs suitable framing. An original A. E. Gauslin is produced entirely by the artist without the help of an assistant.