Matthew Werner

I’m a positive-minded, non-cynical person. I see people as engaging, amusing, beautiful, joyous, and noble characters in life’s panoply. People are simply the most interesting part of the show. When folks see my sculptures, they see snapshots of people—like themselves—who are doing things that they have done—singing, dancing, sleeping, striving, running, praying—people living. It’s as if they see movements and moments from the show of life. In their minds, they create stories to go with the art. The art forces a narrative from the viewer. That’s what I do—I make narrative, realistic, people-sculptures. I see the essential humanity of folks around me—people of all races and walks—and I capture it in physical forms that encourage folks to see a story that is uniquely their own. The narrative may be long and involved, or it may be only a few words. Sometimes they tell me what they see.I admire the sculptor Bernini for his sense of movement and composition. I admire Rodin for his impressionistic abbreviations of human forms. I favor the illustrator Rockwell for his loyalty to the nobility of common women and men.

Medium(s): Wood