Michael Hall
Studio Foundry
"High in the hill country of south central Texas, there has existed since 1975, a paradoxical union of creative aesthetics, renaissance alchemy and space age technology."
Wesley Gallery is proud to be able to offer Michael Hall Sculptures! Michael Hall's Studio Foundry has become the collective sum of his accomplished art career, which began in 1965, during his military service in the U. S. Air Force, where he managed to blend his aerospace engineering background with graphic and sculptural art courses and positions.
As a graphic artist, Michael continually explored his enthusiasm in the realm of three dimensions. Upon discovering the unique permanence of cast bronze, he moved from Dallas, where he held his last graphic arts position, to be closer to nature and nearer his native home. In the peaceful hills of Driftwood, Texas, he began to create sculpture full time, using his engineering experience to set up a lost wax bronze casting foundry as a means to produce his own sculpture. In the past three decades he has become one of the leading consultants in sculpture and modern as well as ancient casting techniques.
The combined expertise of creating and producing quality bronze sculpture was recognized by the World Bank's International Development Association. In 1983 as their Sculpture and Art Casting Consultant in Katmandu, Nepal, he worked with the native sculptors and founders, introducing technological improvements to their traditional lost wax casting technique, as well as demonstrating alternative sculpture designs. He presented lectures and reports to the art departments of leading universities in Katmandu and Bangkok, Thailand, and published a practitioner's manual entitled, “Lost Wax Casting in Nepal,” for the benefit of Nepal's metal casters.
Wildlife provides inspiration for much of Michael's work. The variety in Asia's animal kingdom was supportive to a wealth of new ideas, and upon returning to his home and studio; he felt that even after his second trip around the world, Driftwood was still a comfortable place to live and to create.
Michael brilliantly defies the usual cliches of wildlife sculpture, producing richly patinaed bronzes, vibrant in both detail and competence. “The art is a culmination of my observations, artistic studies, and personal involvement with the subjects presented.”