dave wertz
Latest Word from Dave
TEW Gallery recently sent me a picture of her in her new home in Australia! I am sure she is enjoying the amazing view from Dan & Veronica’s beautiful home. My thanks and appreciation to Dan & Veronica for bringing “Black Cadillac” into their collection and giving her such a fabulous home. I trust she will be well behaved and bring much enjoyment to her new owners.
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[image caption=”Center In The Square; Roanoke, Virginia USA”]https://ametalsoul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/51174-centersquare2.jpg[/image]
[image caption=”Center In The Square; Roanoke, Virginia USA”]https://ametalsoul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/5c451-centersquare.jpg[/image]
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Location
Center In The Square
Roanoke, Virginia USA
Installation Date
September 2013
Information
[fancy_link link=”http://centerinthesquare.org/” target=”blank”]Center In The Square[/fancy_link]
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This art installation is a collaboration between Center in the Square and local metal sculptor, Dave Wertz. It is a rich and exciting example of what can happen when a large foundation, Western Virginia Foundation for the Arts and Sciences, comes together with a local artist. Together, they have created an art installation project that supports the themes and concepts behind the historic renovation of Center in the Square. Now, in addition to the amazing aquariums that offer us an insight into the beautiful underwater world of fish, we have an art installation that will intrigue and excite the imagination and creative energy in all who visit.
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Wertz says he started making fish many years ago simply because his son is an avid fly fisherman. “I wanted my son to believe that I really was an artist, so I made something I knew he loved — fish.” The fish series proved to be very popular. Like everything, though, the fish designs had to grow and change — from the original, realistic Steelheads of the Pacific Northwest to the present abstractions of colorful and whimsical tropical creatures that suggest far-flung exotic places. Each fish is an original: a one-of-a-kind piece of art. They are hand fabricated from hot rolled carbon steel and then painted and patinaed as only Wertz can do. These fish look as if they have just finished a long hard migration. Let’s just say, getting some personality out of a fish can be a challenge, and from the look of these fish, Wertz has figured it out.
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Log Home Living
I have come to know that, when you live life as an artist, you never know what is next or how “things” will work out, but if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other amazing things happen. A while back, my dear friend, Lucy Buckner Tkachenko, offered to include some of my Expansive Horses in a photo shoot of her sweet little log cabin beside a fast running stream in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. Now that is what good friends do — they think about you and offer a helping hand along the way. So I carried some big ol’ horses up to this cabin and, after a quick chat with the photographer, I was gone. When I returned later to gather up the girls, Lucy and the photographer were gone. I jumped back into my studio and kind of forgot that it ever happened. Well, a little over a week ago, I found out that a lot had been going on! Long story short: Go get The 2014 Annual Buyer’s Guide of Log Home Living and check out the fabulous home Lucy has made for herself and check out the Expansive Horses in the front yard. Very cool! Thank you, Lucy
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ametalsoul Studio will be exhibiting work in the upcoming 2013 Biennial Exhibition at the Perspective Gallery; in cooperation with the New River Land Trust.
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ametalsoul Studio will be exhibiting work in the upcoming Port Warwick Art & Sculpture Festival
LOCATION: Port Warwick’s Styron Square, 3100 William Styron Square, Newport News, VA
Produced by The Port Warwick Foundation
The Port Warwick Foundation is a public non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization with the purpose of organizing and managing regional arts and entertainment events located at Styron Square in Port Warwick, Newport News, Virginia. Currently the Foundation hosts the Port Warwick Art & Sculpture Festival, held on the second weekend in October of each year, the Port Warwick Summer Concert Series, a free outdoor series of concerts held each Wednesday evening from May through August.
[fancy_link link=”http://www.pwartfest.org” target=”blank”]More Information about the Port Warwick Festival[/fancy_link]
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Upcoming Shows
We are working against the clock now, getting ready for the Port Warwick Art & Sculpture Show in Newport News, October 12 & 13. We are really excited to be invited to this upscale show and are looking forward to meeting some new collectors as well as old and new artist friends. This will be the premier show for the Slightly Contained Horses, and the girls are ready to get out and shake their butts. Of course, we will still have some of the Expansive Horses at this show. We also will be showing a sample of the Collision of Paint series. Please come out and support the arts and have some fun. The show information is at: http://www.pwartfest.org/
I just received word that Well, Kiss My Sweet Ass was accepted into the 2013 Biennial Exhibition, Perspective Gallery, at Virginia Tech and in cooperation with the New River Land Trust. In spite of her sassy name, she made the cut and will be included in this prestigious show. This is most encouraging because this is only the second show in which I have entered the new series of Slightly Contained Horses. It has been a real challenge to explore and produce the horse sculptures in such a different scale, so I am very pleased at the reception they are receiving. Once I saw these girls, I knew they had the potential to open some doors that the Expansive Horses just didn’t fit through. This is my first step in developing a program of shows focused on large universities and museums, nationally and internationally. Please come and enjoy the show. Details at: http://www.newriverart.org/shows/2013/2013facts.html
As we prepare for the fall show season, I would like to take a quick look back over the fastest summer in my memory. We headed up to Bath County Virginia, which may be the pretest setting for any art show on the east coast. This is a sweet little show that draws artist and collectors from Southwestern Virginia all the way up through the Shenandoah Valley. I have been doing this show for many years and always look forward to a diverse and enjoyable show. Michael Haga, the Associate Dean of the College of Charleston School of the Arts came up to judge the show and Hurricane was presented the honor of best post industrial material sculpture. I also took “Tropic of Cancer” to the League of Roanoke Artist Showcase show at the historical Jefferson Center. This is the only local show I do every year and it is simply one of the nicest. It is so sweet to see what my artist friends are creating and take a bit and catch up with them. They always make me feel right at home and well taken care of. “Tropic of Cancer” took home the best in the sculpture division and we were rightly proud of her, considering the fine and diverse work shown.
It seems I have to walk around some corners to bring this work full circle. I spent a lot of time figuring out the Expansive Horses and, once I “got it,” I needed to move again. I stepped into the next arena with “Delilah,” just as I finished up the work for the TEW show. By that point, I needed to move away. I came back to the “Contained Horses” and further developed them in much the same way that I did with the Expansive Horses. I raised the level of workmanship to coincide with the more developed vision of the horse.
I would like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to Doug and John at Roan & Black of Saugatuck, Michigan. Another small herd of horses has galloped through their gallery this week! I’m telling ya, these guys just kick ass. It is great to know they are representing ametalsoul studio with a ton of class and an excitement that would be hard to match. So when you are on the U.P., be sure to stop in Saugatuck and meet John and Doug. Check out the fabulous art and all the artists they represent there on the Art Coast. Take a minute to pat “Sweet Magnolia” and “If Not for Me” for me. And get a glimpse of a very amazing dream that continues to unfold!
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