Where Magazine - "Prarie Icons"
Prairie landscapes are picturesquely populated with churches and weathervane-topped buildings which epitomize early pioneer farmer's faith in God and their ever-watchful eye on the weather. The shape of of these prairie icons has influenced metal sculptor Richard Finney of Winnipeg. He says, "When looking at objects, whether they are man-made or natural, my interest is drawn to the construction - on how the light with its layers of brilliant, vibrant patinas atop intricate construction. This is work that celebrates craftsmanship in its glorious detail"
Finney is a full-time sculptor who won the "Individual Craftsperson Award" in 1987 from the Manitoba Crafts Council. His work ranges from small intimate pieces to large installations commission for public buildings. Some of his local work is found at the Pavilion Gallery in Assiniboine Park, St. Benedict's Monastery off Main Street in West St. Paul and Temple Shalom on Grant Avenue.
The monuments and icons of religious symbolism are used as a subject of his smaller work, as well as being a major focus of his larger commissions. The reason this is the history, detail and craftsmanship that has gone into religious art and architecture through the ages. Even though the resulting art cat have powerful impact, Finney feels that "the actual construction and intricacy in building a piece us more important than the overall theme." He says "it's not important to me to make a strong statement in every piece." This being said, there is an obvious sequential flow to his work with one piece influencing the next. Over the past twenty years Finney has developed a dedication following of patrons. This has allowed him the freedom to pursue his art with passion and dedication.
Finney is a full-time sculptor who won the "Individual Craftsperson Award" in 1987 from the Manitoba Crafts Council. His work ranges from small intimate pieces to large installations commission for public buildings. Some of his local work is found at the Pavilion Gallery in Assiniboine Park, St. Benedict's Monastery off Main Street in West St. Paul and Temple Shalom on Grant Avenue.
The monuments and icons of religious symbolism are used as a subject of his smaller work, as well as being a major focus of his larger commissions. The reason this is the history, detail and craftsmanship that has gone into religious art and architecture through the ages. Even though the resulting art cat have powerful impact, Finney feels that "the actual construction and intricacy in building a piece us more important than the overall theme." He says "it's not important to me to make a strong statement in every piece." This being said, there is an obvious sequential flow to his work with one piece influencing the next. Over the past twenty years Finney has developed a dedication following of patrons. This has allowed him the freedom to pursue his art with passion and dedication.
Venue Magazine
Richard Finney's work ranges from small and intimate to larger commission sculpture. Varying in both theme and materials, Finney manages to thread the environment, social institution and prairie life, turning treated metal into skilled reflections. His works exemplify the knowledge and familiarity of a trie craftsperson while exceeding the limitations of craft and entering the realm of art.
Finney often sees the actual construction of the piece as more important than the overall theme. Every piece is a technical tour de force.
A graduate of Fine Arts at the University of Manitoba, Finney has been showing his work since the early 1980's with incredible success. The response he has had from private and corporate collectors jeeps this phenomenal artist dedicated to his greatest passion - art.
Finney often sees the actual construction of the piece as more important than the overall theme. Every piece is a technical tour de force.
A graduate of Fine Arts at the University of Manitoba, Finney has been showing his work since the early 1980's with incredible success. The response he has had from private and corporate collectors jeeps this phenomenal artist dedicated to his greatest passion - art.
Uptown Magazine
Murderous surrealist toys and fishing lures the size of footballs about at <Sites> Gallery these days as Winnipeg sculptor Richard Finney gets set to open The Lure of Toys.
With an aesthetic akin to furnishings in the castle in Edward Scissorhands, Finney sculpts fantastically imaginative pieces out of brass, copper, nickel and glass (among other things). The pieces in the show are drawn from two separate bodies of work, Toy Series, a collection of toys with a gothic flair, and Fishing Lures, enormous plastic and steel lures complete with hooks and antennae in wood and fibreglass showcases.
Finney is ambivalent about eh way his work is perceived. "I'm not trying to do anything serious," he explains, "I do it because I enjoy doing it. My taste is more European. Here 'craft' is almost a dirt work, but I think it should be a good piece, well done. Hopefully that speaks in my work; a statement doesn't matter."
Meeting the artist in person, one can't help but be struck by the complete absence of intensity common among many artists. In some way he comes across like a big kid.
Expecting a drawn-out answer to the question of what it is that fascinates him about toys, he simply laughs and say's, "I don't know!"
When pressed, his reasons behind the fishing lures are simple, but far more satisfying than any academic response. "I do a lot of fishing and there's something about going into a fishing store and seeing a lure for $45 or $100," he says. "Why spend all of that money on a lure, then have a big pike come along and chew it all to hell?" So he imagined what kind of gifts one of these fishing lure companies might give away and came up with the monsters in the show.
This is not to say that the work in the show is simple in any way. Inspired by two american sculptors, Ernest Trova and David Smith, the craftsmanship behind Finney's sculptures is remarkable. He say's it's not uncommon for him to spend years working on and refining a piece.
In addition to the sculptures in the exhibit, he also included a series of photographs of glass architecture work he has done for a variety of clients in the city. Some of the shots include work he has done in the entryway to the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Assiniboine Park Pavilion, as well as work from the collections of the Royal Bank and Richardson family.
Finney has been working as an artist for 15 years now, since getting his diploma from the University of Manitoba Fine Arts program. He supplements his art practice with the glass work, which he calls his bread and butter. "There are good years and there are bad years. This year I can hardly afford a load of bread," he says with a laugh. "But i believe that if you stick with it long enough, sooner or later something is going to happen."
With an aesthetic akin to furnishings in the castle in Edward Scissorhands, Finney sculpts fantastically imaginative pieces out of brass, copper, nickel and glass (among other things). The pieces in the show are drawn from two separate bodies of work, Toy Series, a collection of toys with a gothic flair, and Fishing Lures, enormous plastic and steel lures complete with hooks and antennae in wood and fibreglass showcases.
Finney is ambivalent about eh way his work is perceived. "I'm not trying to do anything serious," he explains, "I do it because I enjoy doing it. My taste is more European. Here 'craft' is almost a dirt work, but I think it should be a good piece, well done. Hopefully that speaks in my work; a statement doesn't matter."
Meeting the artist in person, one can't help but be struck by the complete absence of intensity common among many artists. In some way he comes across like a big kid.
Expecting a drawn-out answer to the question of what it is that fascinates him about toys, he simply laughs and say's, "I don't know!"
When pressed, his reasons behind the fishing lures are simple, but far more satisfying than any academic response. "I do a lot of fishing and there's something about going into a fishing store and seeing a lure for $45 or $100," he says. "Why spend all of that money on a lure, then have a big pike come along and chew it all to hell?" So he imagined what kind of gifts one of these fishing lure companies might give away and came up with the monsters in the show.
This is not to say that the work in the show is simple in any way. Inspired by two american sculptors, Ernest Trova and David Smith, the craftsmanship behind Finney's sculptures is remarkable. He say's it's not uncommon for him to spend years working on and refining a piece.
In addition to the sculptures in the exhibit, he also included a series of photographs of glass architecture work he has done for a variety of clients in the city. Some of the shots include work he has done in the entryway to the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Assiniboine Park Pavilion, as well as work from the collections of the Royal Bank and Richardson family.
Finney has been working as an artist for 15 years now, since getting his diploma from the University of Manitoba Fine Arts program. He supplements his art practice with the glass work, which he calls his bread and butter. "There are good years and there are bad years. This year I can hardly afford a load of bread," he says with a laugh. "But i believe that if you stick with it long enough, sooner or later something is going to happen."
MAG Profile
In the mail one day came a big brown cushy envelope from Winnipeg. Inside it were three sheets of slides. MAG doesn't hear from Manitoba very often so I was enthralled to see that Richard Finney had contacted us.
Richard's work are of varying sizes but each is endowed with some craftsmanship and a sense of meaning beyond metal and patina. MAG members were introduced to Richard's work (via the slide projector) at the last Coffee, Critique, and Conversation. Viewers were impressed by the sight of several large commissions such as his 1990 Digital Equipment wall installation (see photo below) as well as small intimate pieces such as a "Bone Box" made in 1982 and a container entitled "Clear Cut Annihilation" (1987).
His metal career has been centred in Winnipeg for the past fifteen years after an education at The University of Manitoba and Surgeon Creek Regional School. A background in sculpture and what he calls "an inner drive, nervous energy, a desire to create something that has been never been made before" propels Finney to make works that reflect history, religion, nature and social conscience. Churches, landscapes, and containers of precious things are recurring themes. The metals are often treated with layers of brilliant, vibrant patinas. He is hoping to create another Reliquary type piece in cast bronze and fabricated brass. His reliquary from 1984 is amazing to look at (even on a slide) so I imaging the next one will be equally as great. Anne Barros got dibs on that slide as you may see it in her book.
The description that suits his work best comes from the artist himself: "detailed, whimsical and I hope a strong degree of craftsmanship." True.
He has sold work through David Rice Studios in Winnipeg but at present his work is not available in any gallery. Finney would like to have work in more Canadian cities, particularly Vancouver and Toronto. Listen up galleries and patrons. And look.
Richard's work are of varying sizes but each is endowed with some craftsmanship and a sense of meaning beyond metal and patina. MAG members were introduced to Richard's work (via the slide projector) at the last Coffee, Critique, and Conversation. Viewers were impressed by the sight of several large commissions such as his 1990 Digital Equipment wall installation (see photo below) as well as small intimate pieces such as a "Bone Box" made in 1982 and a container entitled "Clear Cut Annihilation" (1987).
His metal career has been centred in Winnipeg for the past fifteen years after an education at The University of Manitoba and Surgeon Creek Regional School. A background in sculpture and what he calls "an inner drive, nervous energy, a desire to create something that has been never been made before" propels Finney to make works that reflect history, religion, nature and social conscience. Churches, landscapes, and containers of precious things are recurring themes. The metals are often treated with layers of brilliant, vibrant patinas. He is hoping to create another Reliquary type piece in cast bronze and fabricated brass. His reliquary from 1984 is amazing to look at (even on a slide) so I imaging the next one will be equally as great. Anne Barros got dibs on that slide as you may see it in her book.
The description that suits his work best comes from the artist himself: "detailed, whimsical and I hope a strong degree of craftsmanship." True.
He has sold work through David Rice Studios in Winnipeg but at present his work is not available in any gallery. Finney would like to have work in more Canadian cities, particularly Vancouver and Toronto. Listen up galleries and patrons. And look.