Happy Birthday Adrian!! [Contemporary Sculptors of Chicago - Adrian Calderon]

Continuing with my series on Contemporary Sculptors of Chicago..
Here's Adrian Calderon..
One of the most promising young sculptors I've met.. He is all ready to carry forward the the Chicago tradition of large-scale outdoor installations. The Public Art scene in Chicago, has been enriched by the artistic vision of many dedicated sculptors, and the future seems secure too, with a young generation ready to carry forward this time-honored tradition.. and to me, Adrian is all prepared to do exactly that.



Talking to Adrian, what struck me was his strong academic grounding, his knowledge of the grandmasters in the field of sculptures and also his acute understanding of the art scene in Chicago. And the respect and admiration he shows for his mentors and teachers would make them swell with pride.





Although he doesn't as yet have an outdoor installation, he seems all prepared for it. His home-studio has some small sculptural pieces. One of my favourites was this copper piece, he is holding. And in image with photograph, he is explaining to me, how different metals oxidize, tarnish and patina in different ways. Talking to him I learned a lot about different considerations for outdoor installation.. From how a sculptor has to keep on mind, the intrinsic properties of metals and how they react under extreme weather conditions [that Chicago is famous/notorious for]. How the various joints in a sculptural piece has to be strong enough to hold, under assault by extreme temperature variations and strong wind conditions. How rain water will accumulate and potentially damage a piece.. and so on..


One of the silver pieces he has worked on..


I found this piece to be very interesting. How some people react, when he seems a large-scale abstract sculpture..


As far as sculptures are concerned, I've a special place for figure sculptures [neo-classical, abstract, grotesque, anything].. and this really did it for me. This is the first piece I noticed and was impressed..

And I'm happy to publish this post on his birthday.
Today Adrian turns 29..
Happy Birthday Adrian!!..













Above images: Some small-scale sculptures at his home studio..
Below image: Can be called a maquette of a large-scale sculpture he intends to work on..