'Sculpture | Walk' comes to Cal Lutheran

Works by celebrated sculptor will line campus path

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"Three Graces Half Life Column, Waterfall” is one of the sculptures by Richard MacDonald that will be exhibited on campus.

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Oct. 15, 2015) Monumental bronze sculptures by internationally celebrated sculptor Richard MacDonald will line a path between California Lutheran University’s two art galleries Nov. 1-Dec. 15.

“Sculpture | Walk” was organized in conjunction with The Representational Art Conference 2015 (TRAC2015), which will be held Nov. 1-4 at the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach. MacDonald is a keynote speaker at the international conference organized and sponsored by Cal Lutheran.

A MacDonald “Sculpture | Walk” was previously exhibited in Singapore, but this is the first one in the United States. The collection of a dozen figurative bronze pieces ranging from 3 to 12 feet tall will be installed outdoors between the William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art and the Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture on the Thousand Oaks campus. Visitors can access an interactive mobile tour by scanning an on-site QR code with their smartphones or tablets to learn about each of the sculptures, watch a video on MacDonald’s creative process, listen to the sculptor and see a timeline of his career. Two additional sculptures will be featured in the “Transmission: Secrets of the Studio” exhibit in the Rolland Gallery Oct. 30-Jan. 21.

MacDonald is known for working with a live model in his studio at all times. He works clay and bronze into neo-figurative representations of athletes and performers in moments of peak performance. He doesn’t use any photography to capture the moments of transition.

“The most important aspect of my work is capturing the soul and life of the human spirit,” MacDonald said.

Born in California, he studied painting and illustration at the Art Center College of Design and worked as a commercial illustrator for more than a decade until a fire destroyed his studio. He then began sculpting in earnest and has spent the past 20 years dividing his time among studios in Monterey, Las Vegas and London. He has created sculptures for the 1996 Summer Olympics, the U.S. Open golf championship, The Royal Ballet School, Cirque du Soleil and the National Art Museum of Sport.

In 2014, MacDonald began working with patinas with distinctive red tones and patterns. He is exhibiting pieces from this “red” collection on an international tour that began Oct. 3 and will run through June 2017.

The Rolland Gallery is located inside William Rolland Stadium on the north side of Olsen Road between Campus Drive and Mountclef Boulevard. The Kwan Fong Gallery is inside Soiland Humanities Center at 120 Memorial Parkway. For more information, contact Michael Pearce at 805-444-7716 or visit CalLutheran.edu.

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