Artist Sculptor Greg Coffelt - Biography

 

Metal Sculptor Greg Coffelt creates stunning, totally unique figurative masterpieces crafted from steel.  Physically worked by hand and welded into place with an artisan’s passion for recreating the graceful essence of the human form, his medium, primarily steel, is some of the hardest material in the world to sculpt.

 

Coffelt was born in Long Beach, California in 1960.  He showed interest in art from a very young age.  However, the journey to his current success as a passionate figurative artist evolved through application of intellect and physical skills as a designer, craftsman, and general contractor.  These various disciplines melded into Coffelt’s psyche a keen sense for structural design, fabrication technique, and studied sensitivity to materials as his hands guide the work.

 

Completely self-taught, Greg Coffelt was inspired by the works of Rodin and Michelangelo who are primary influences on his style and composition.  Coffelt received an award from the Pacific Arts Foundation for the Best of the Best contest for a drawing He created. Eschewing the path taken by many metal sculptors who work in cast bronze, Coffelt was seduced by the challenge and beauty of working in steel which allows him to create his unique signature style.  Like many great artists before him, a thorough study of human anatomy has given Coffelt insight into the human form, and when combined with application of his practical experience and creative vision the artistic results are nothing less than awe inspiring. 

 

Greg Coffelt began to sculpt seriously in steel in 2000, beginning the “Evolution of Eve” series.  Steel is one of the hardest substances on earth to manipulate.  A single sculpture can take the artist up to 9 months to create.  When finished, it is plated in nickel.  Each sculpture is an original.  An exact copy would be impossible.  Therefore, every Coffelt creation is truly “one-of-a-kind”.  To the best of our knowledge, nothing quite like Coffelt’s art exists anywhere in the world. 

 

Greg Coffelt’s sculptures make a stunning statement in any living space, corporate environment, or on public display.

Bio written by Joe Gordon owner curator at Miranda Galleries, Laguna Beach, CA.

 

Greg Coffelt Artist Statement

 

Looking back on my life there is much evidence that I was being prepared for my current status as an Artist and  metal sculptor. I started sculpting at age 39, previously I had been trained in many different disciplines as a construction worker and ultimately a general contractor. As a young person I had a innate ability to draw well and build things, I believe this was not just a hobby or pastime but something much deeper.

 

Many times in my life I pushed the desire to create art away so as not to divide my attention to conduct my business as a contractor. Ultimately this caused bouts of anxiety and depression, at age 39 I decided to follow the desires of my heart which was to create art.

 

Sculpting steel, to me, is the ultimate challenge and I look forward to every new project with it’s own unique trials. Being self taught has given me many valuable lessons including experimentation, failure and accidental success, everyday it seems I learn something new.

 

My main focus is to manipulate the steel to give it an organic and biological appearance with an essence of fluidity and gracefulness. Creating life size figures has it’s challenges and is very time consuming, but the rewards are many and satisfying.