artist statement
Robert Byron Gottschall is a master sculptor of wood, stone and bronze. For over 50 years, he has developed innovative carving techniques to create artwork that bridges past to present and spiritual to physical. His abstract wood and stone work differs from his representational bronze work so that at first glimpse it may seem to be from different artists entirely. But further exploration into Gottschall’s biography and the sources of inspiration he feeds from, reveal an artist with unwaning passion and versatility creating a genuinely original body of work.
Gottschall was first inspired by the Eastern art and culture he witnessed growing up in Japan and Taiwan, motivating him to begin carving at age eight. After studying art and gemology at the University of Texas at Austin, he went on to train with master sculptors of wood, jade, marble, and bronze. Further study of ancient cultures, religion, spirituality, mythology, and nature’s oracles, led him to develop a range of carving techniques as vehicles for exploring the connection of organic art and transformational mythology.
Black walnut is his wood of choice, which he hand harvests to find the very best shapely burls . Gottschall brings complex stories to the surface of the living fabric of the wood, while the sculptures he carves in marble, alabaster and soapstone reflect ancient universal images of Mother Earth and Father Sky, connecting us to our source. Not limited to carving wood and stone, he often uses traditional sculpting techniques in wax to create representational bronze sculptures.
This range of skills allows Gottschall to veer from the traditional into the nontraditional, and over the decades he has developed innovative techniques he calls Fusion and Grand Fusion blending bronze, wood and stone. Creating a unique genre of sculpture, he integrates biological, planetary and universal imagery in search of the metaphysical thread that unites it all.
“By lifting my preconceived notions of design, each piece of wood, stone and wax guides my hand to carve its stories.” Gottschall brings layers of design to life by telling the multivalent stories, past and present, of the material he is working through a profoundly sensitive and often spiritual human voice. While his sculptures certainly ’speak for themselves’, their vitality and significance are enriched by the viewer’s interaction with them.
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EDUCATION
1965 Texas Tech University General Studies
1973 University of Texas at Austin Art and Gemology
1973 Austin Community College
Master Teachers and Mentors
1970-72 Morey Alexander
Totem sculptor and tool-maker from the Lummi Nation - Bellingham, WA
1975-77 Robert Harvil
Master western jade sculptor, tool-maker and gemologist - Sinton, TX
1974-77 Paul Prochnow
Burl master, machinist, and blacksmith - Taught the history of hardwoods in the Texas hill country
1978-80 Jean Eymere
Engraver and sculptor - Aspen, CO
Commissions: Private/PubliC/Corporate
2022 Southwest Mountain States Regional Council of Carpenters
“Shoulder to Shoulder II” - ⅓ life size bronze - Carson, CA
2022 Private Collection
“Seahorse” - 4’ bronze - Wichita, KS
2021 United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners
“The Carpenter” - 10 ¼ life size bronzes - Las Vegas, NV
2020 Southwest Mountain States Regional Council of Carpenters
“Shoulder to Shoulder II” - 15 ⅓ life size bronzes - Riverside, CA - Inglewood, CA - Las Vegas, NV
2020 United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners
“The Carpenter” - Over life size bronze - San Francisco, CA
2018 Private Collection
“The Spark that Lit the Flame” - 13’’ wood, bronze and stone original in EARTHLIGHT Series - TX
2019 Private Collection
“The Spark” - 13” bronze - No. 1 & 2 in the bronze edition of EARTHLIGHT - TX
2008 Southwest Mountain States Regional Council of Carpenters
“Shoulder to Shoulder”- 5 half life size bronzes - Albuquerque, NM - Denver, CO - Ontario, CA
2008 Private Collection
“Transcendent Sky” - 5’ bronze - MO
2007 Private Collection
“Transcendent Sea” - 5’ bronze - Aspen, CO
2006 Southwest Mountain States Regional Council of Carpenters
“Shoulder to Shoulder” - 5 half life size bronzes - Los Angeles, CA
2006 Emerson Unitarian Church
“Memorial Wall” - 6’ bronze, steel and mesquite wall installation - Houston, TX
2004 Southwest Mountain States Regional Council of Carpenters
“Shoulder to Shoulder” - 5 half life size bronzes - Phoenix, AZ
2002 United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
“The Carpenter” - 2 over life size bronzes - Washington, D.C. - Las Vegas, NV
1997 Private Collection
“Hatake” - 5’ wood and bronze - Wimberley, TX
1996 Wichita Center for the Arts - Mark Arts
“Love of The Sea” - 7’ white marble - Wichita, KS
1996 Center for Creative Leadership
“The Sling” - 13’ black walnut - Colorado Springs, CO
1995 Hennan Health Care System
“The Spinal Staircase” - 12’ bristlecone pine - Colorado Springs, CO
1984 Private Collection
“Ascension of Man’ - 4’ bronze - Houston, TX
1983 Unity Church of Christianity
“The Elements” - 4 10” sculptures in bronze and marble, installation - Houston, TX
1983 Trammell Crow Properties
“Freedom” - 8’ bronze - Dallas, TX
1982 Private Collection
“Freedom” - 8’ walnut - Houston, TX
1981 Paragon Corporation
“Spirit Emerging” - 6’ bronze - Midland, TX
1979 John and Anne Denver
“Dolphin Couple” - 4’ x 3’ base relief in cabin wall - appears on the album “Seasons of the Heart” - Aspen, CO
1979 City of Snowmass
“Dolphin Kiss” - 3’ white marble installation - CO
1978 Private Collection
“The Dancer” - 3’ bronze - Basalt, CO
1976 Rusty Wier
Custom belt buckle made of silver, turquoise and rose wood - On the cover of “Self Titled Album” - Austin, TX
1976 Private Collection
"Moon Lovers” 18K gold and opal - Corpus Christi, TX
Honors and Awards
1979 Featured Artist Exhibition
Capitol Building Rotunda - Denver, CO
1979 First Prize, Snowmass Sculpture Competition - Aspen, CO
1978 Award of Merit, Aspen Public Art Commission
1976 Best of Texas Touring Exhibit
Professional Affiliations
2007-08 Uptown Blanco Art Center - Wimberley, TX
Instructor
1993-96 Art Student League - Colorado Springs, CO
Board of Directors and Instructor
1992-95 Roby Mills Warehouse - Colorado Springs, CO
Founding Member and Artist
1988 Tesuque Art Association - Tesuque, NM
Founder
Tesuque Village Market Gallery - Tesuque, NM
Director
1984-85 Jack Pierce Warehouse - Houston, TX
Founding Member and Artist
1975-76 Texas Arts Alliance - Austin, TX
Artist Representative on the Governing Board
1974-76 Texas Arts and Crafts Foundation - Kerrville, TX
Artist Representative on Board of Directors
1971-72 The Drag - Austin, TX
Founding Member and Artist
Solo Exhibitions
1978-2004 Over 50 solo and featured artist exhibitions including:
Art Expo, Los Angeles CA - Art Expo, New York NY - Davis McClain Gallery, Houston TX - Robin Stucky Gallery, Naples, FL - Deborah Goldstein Gallery, Johnson City TX - Sable 5 Gallery, Wimberley TX - Byrn Getz Gallery, Aspen CO- Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, CO - Variant Gallery, Santa Fe NM