Artist Statement

Wyatt L Gragg

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

In 1995 I was diagnosed with my first of three meningiomas, a benign tumor on the left side, or executive side, of my brain. The result was damage to math skills, some decision making, and short-term memory problems. I had to say goodbye to the security of the corporate world of teaching and sales. The good news was that the right brain flourished as it compensated, yes, that theory is real, and I have been a very happy and fortunate artist ever since.

Concerning my sculpture, absolute reality isn’t on the list. Is that your poodle? Absolutely! But I will leave a noticeable surface texture that will carry it’s spirit while it commands your hand to reach forward to touch it. Fingerprints won’t be an issue. I’d rather give you plenty of room to imagine and remember. Will it just look appropriate nestled amongst the forsythia, or will it take you back to grandmother’s house?

My sculptural commissions have included almost everything from landscaping focal points and family pets to cemetery and public memorials. I was asked a few years ago if I had ever sculpted a man on a motorcycle. I have nowand it lives in downtown LaGrange, KY.

For the last several years, I have been spending time with acrylics on canvas, too. Still lifes painted over a minimal background that most often try to dodge tradition just enough to test the eye and maybe cause the viewer to wonder “why”. For instance, what’s wrong with a garnished martini glass with no martini? A traditional three object still life enhanced with sensual lighting or an extreme close-up of a cluster of daisies are never out of the realm of possibility for my painting, though. Stay tuned. Or just ask!

As a boy I used to wonder why flourishes of delicate white and yellow butterflies only gathered after a rain shower around the gritty gravel driveway puddles. Don’t they socialize when the weather is nice? Wouldn’t they be more comfortable on a smooth dry surface? Today I wonder if one apple in a bowl of oranges would be incorrect.

For almost 30 years of making art, I’ve kept asking the same question: “Why not?”.