Brad Sells gallery
The image above and artist statement come courtesy of Brad Sells.
A tree is a selfless mentor inspiring me to reveal its beauty, its truth. It feels right to work it. It feels bigger than me. It humbles me with its soulful, timely patience, thriving and dying at the same time. The tree gives me a feeling of connection, gentle and real. I learn from the revealing mortal grain. This is my sculptural journey. Carving wood is in my genetic makeup.
I appreciate the relationship between man and tree. There is a co-evolution present. I am interested in how man uses the forest and how the relationship grows and thrives in worldly cultures. My curiosity has taken me as far as South Africa, the Amazon, and the Hawaiian Islands where indigenous people believe the forest is a spiritual place where ancestors dwell.
My work is an experiment in form and aesthetic. I try to design consistently with the flow of life, a repetitive design of nature bursting with cycles and revolutions. My process is hard and all consuming, like tending a crop. The results reveal the tree’s character and spirit. My work is an observation of science and nature disguised by soul philosophy. I work between these realms creating art and hoping to form a sense of connection that is necessary and lasting.
Brad Sells
from the Brad Sells Portfolio: The Story Behind the Tree