Rick Lazes

Tactile and dynamic, Richard lazes’ bent wood sculptures invite the viewer to circle, observe, puzzle, and touch. Lazes uses steam to coax rich and gorgeous wood into springing curls and languid swoops. By pulling forms from delicate and minute sources, such as calligraphic pen marks, or the push of wind through blades of grass, and bringing them up to human scale, Lazes accesses the energy inherent in these easily overlooked sources of beauty.

Biography

Rick Lazes is a three dimensional artist who works in a variety of media including wood, plaster, stainless steel, plexiglass and marble. His recent series, “Liquid Art,” employs a unique reverse painting technique on melted plexiglass. Lazes’ wood sculpture series, “The World Is Bending,” makes a social statement about the state of flux that people around the world are encountering in the 21st century. In order to realize the complex designs for the series, Lazes developed a proprietary steam bending process that is protected by pending patents, rendering this series truly one-of-a-kind.

Lazes’ first studio was heated by a coal potbelly stove on a West Virginia mountain top, where he spent as much time trying to keep warm during the cold winters as crafting his sculpture. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, today Lazes lives and works in Lake Norman near Charlotte, North Carolina.

Lazes is an inventor and the holder of several patents for innovative technology including the Auto Boom™, which is a state-of-the-art technology employed for mitigating offshore oil spills. One of his companies was the largest private contractor on the recent BP oil spill and responsible for the successful mitigation of the worst offshore oil spill in history.

Lazes’ professional career includes his work in the entertainment industry where he has produced hundreds of concerts and live music festivals in over 30 states, as well as TV shows for HBO and Cinemax. He is currently developing a 37-acre entertainment complex in downtown Charlotte, NC (ncmusicfactory.com), and a 1,000 acre second home community in West Virginia (dawsonlake.com).

Artist Statement

“I create vibrant and sensuous sculpture that is a manifestation of my passion for music.”

The “World Is Bending” series are made up of hard woods (walnut, cherry, maple and poplar) which are steam bent into organic forms exposing the natural beauty of the wood’s grain. They fuse balance with tension, structure and elegance.

Exhibits

Dedee Shattuck Gallery | September 4th- November 27th, 2011 | Steve Remick, Deborah Quinn-Munson, and Rick Lazes