Artist statement – Lorraine Bonanni
My love of sculpture, specifically sculpture of the human figure, came from a strong desire to work in three dimensions and from my cultural backgrouond, which is French and Italian.
I learned by doing, apprenticing with a very successful figure sculptor in Belgium, who insisted that I learn the anatomy and perfect the techniques, i.e., “do it the hard way” rather than relying on others, mold makers and foundry men. Only later, when in the U.S., did this very “classical” approach give way to a more intuitive, emotion laden, and free expression that represents me and my work today.
I stay true to my own vision in that I favor representation over abstraction. I work exclusively from models and attempt to capture something of theirs that is alive and can be felt by me and hopefully by the onlooker. Sculpting the human form has become secondary to expressing the humanity of my models. In a nutshell, I would like to sculpt as Egon Schiele drew, and find the word expressionism to best render the stage at which I find myself. I feel very encouraged by the recognition that figurative sculpture is gaining all over again in the art world, in Europe as well as here.
November 2006
lorrainebonanni@yahoo.com