Each month, Arts on the Point plans to bring to the UMB campus a visiting artist who will not only be present to talk with interested students and faculty, but also to work in public for all to observe. This month’s visiting artist is Katharine Wales, and she was here on the UMB campus, Tuesday through Thursday, working on her material in the Harbor Art Gallery.
Only two hours into her first day, Wales had already had a score of interested students come up one by one or in groups to learn more about her work and to discuss art in general with her. Many of these students talked with her while she worked on her latest sculpture for the Harbor Art Gallery, a petite three-foot bull made of metallic wire and partially covered with drying papier mâché. When asked what direction she wanted this work to take she said she was unsure, because for Wales, she almost never has a final vision of how she wants her work to turn out when she begins it. Instead, like many artists, her work “just happens,” and comes to life while working on it. This process isn’t for everybody, but it has worked well for her over the years, as her name has become respected in the world of art.
Born in this neck of the woods, Wales grew up in a house full of writers. Even though Wales did write on her own occasionally, the artistic mediums that called her from a young age were drawing and sculpting. It was during her high school tenure that she realized art was something she wished to pursue for her life’s work. This led her to Boston University, where she completed her BFA in art education and sculpture.
After the completion of her undergraduate degrees and before she attended graduate school at the University of Arizona in 1988 for a masters in sculpture, she had several works commissioned and several works exhibited, one exhibition occurring in Boston in 1984. After the completion of her master’s degree, her solo exhibitions and her commissioned work soared. She has had no less that twelve solo exhibitions and four commissions for public sculptures since 1988.
Anyone who takes a look at her work will immediately notice that a majority are sculptures of animals. In the Harbor Art Gallery, her sculptures are of bulls, sharks, goats, dogs, and eagles. Her passion for sculpting animals results from her interest in figurative art. She gathers her inspiration through direct observation of animals, on one instance scuba diving in the Caribbean to view Bull sharks up close and personal.
Wales uses various materials to construct her sculptures. She has used ropes of various thickness, metal wires, metal pipes, silverware, and papier mâché. One of the sculptures that stands out in the Harbor Art Gallery is of two perched eagles with metal pipes with spoons, knives, and forks drooping over them to produce the effect of wings and feathers. Another intriguing piece is two goats constructed from various ropes and pipes. The goats, which look very lifelike, have an opening on the sides of their bodies with tubes sticking out, almost as if you are viewing the creatures’ rib cages. The largest work in the gallery is of a seven- to eight-foot bull’s head made of papier mâché. The paper used has nearly illegible writings of “old Texas stories.” The piece was inspired by the classic Greek tale of the Minotaur. Since Wales has always been interested in ancient Greek art and stories, it is no wonder she chose the Minotaur.
Wales’ work will be on display in the Harbor Art Gallery for three weeks, which is the standard exhibition length for visiting artists. Anyone interested in getting into contact with Mrs. Wales should also stop by to pick up her email address.
