The Art of
SCULPTURE Diana Reuter-Twining’s Recent Releases Including: “THE WATER SERIES”
Shows, Publicity, Collections Exhibitions: American Women Artists... 2011, 2014, 2015 Artists for Conservation..... 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 Society of Animal Artists... 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015 The Bennington’s Art and the Animal Kingdom... 2008-2015 National Sculpture Society’s Annual Awards Exhibition... 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014 Leigh Yawkey Woodson’s Birds in Art... 2004, 2006, 2009, 2013 National Sculpture Society’s Wings of Hope Wings of Peace... 2003 National Sculpture Society’s Animals in the Atrium... 2001 The Gilcrease Museum, Collector’s Reserve Exhibition and Sale… 2015
Publications: Fine Art Connoisseur, July/August 2015: “3D: A Snapshot of Sculpture Today” Virginia Living, June 2010: “Wild Emotion” by Lisa Antonelli Bacon Middleburg Eccentric, January 2010: “No Creature Too Small for Diana Reuter-Twining” Wildlife Art, January/February 2006: “Sculptor Champions Africa’s Wildlife” by Myrna Zanetell Élan, December 2005/January 2006: “Discoveries in Bronze” by Sally Pfoutz. vol. 1, no. 9 Inform Art, Fall, 2005: “Four Sculptors Stretch Their Imaginations” by Myrna Zanetell vol. 16, no. 4 Teton Valley Top to Bottom, Spring/Summer, 2001: “Art and Soul” by Patti Layser
Collections:
The Metropolitan Club of the City of Washington 1700 H St NW Washington, DC 20036 Bryn Mawr College 01 North Merion Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 Western Kentucky University 1906 College Heights Boulevard Bowling Green, KY 42101
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum 700 North 12th Street Wausau, WI 54403 The Bennington Center for the Arts Bennington, VT
The Art of
SCULPTURE
CONTENTS
The Water Series. . . . . . . . . . 2-3 Mandolin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 Mandarin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7 The Nest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Mezza Luna . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13 Grasshopper . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15 Swift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Honeycomb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Tyto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19 Daddy Long Legs. . . . . . . 20-21 Peacock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Imagine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Wild Emotion. . . . . . . . . . 24-25 The Art of Jewelry. . . . . . . 26-27 About Diana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
To contact Diana Reuter-Twining Mail may be sent to: P.O. Box 552, Aldie, Virginia, 20105 Phone: (803) 824-9123 Website: www.bronzed.net Diana’s gallery*: 109 W. Washington Street, Middleburg, Virginia, 20118 (*Please call ahead if you would like to meet Diana at the gallery)
Studio photography by Brandon Webster Magazine design by Pam Owens Design
The Water Series
Water has long inspired me. I am particularly captivated by the riffles created when waterfowl swim over still water. In this series I have explored that geometry. Mandarin was the first of the series. Here I showed how the riffle extended below the water’s surface in a gentle arc that perpetuates the triangular riffle. Mandarin Wall Hanging allows the geometry to be seen on a vertical wall surface. Note that I have added a semi circle in front of the duck in this piece, taking into account that the duck is actually swimming inside a circle that is moving forward with it, while trailing a triangle behind. Mandarin II is the resolution of Mandarin. Mandolin takes the concept of a musical instrument, the mandolin, and works on the concept of music as water. The head of the mandolin has a circle that initiates the flow of a single thread (or string) of water that connects to the body of the instrument, where two ducks are swimming in overlapping concentric circles. Their movement approximates the harmony that might be associated with the mandolin. I chose to cast the ducks in a high polished nickel. This mirror-like finish creates a dynamic of movement through reflection.
MANDARIN II
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MANDARIN
MANDARIN II
Available at any size Stainless steel or bronze
MANDARIN WALL HANGING
MANDOLIN
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MANDOLIN I have been long fascinated by watching the riffles that ducks form while swimming. This sculpture is one of a series that explores that geometry. Two mandarin ducks swim around one another, forming two overlapping circles and creating a more complex geometry which is reflected in the polished nickel of the ducks. I used the mandolin as a base into which this composition rests to emphasize the underlying sense of harmony. At the head of the instrument is a circle from which a single line connects to the riffles: implying an unending line which constantly regenerates itself.
5.5" H x 32" W x 13"D (14 x 82 x 33 cm)
Fused nylon, copper & nickel on aluminum
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MANDARIN The mandarin duck seems almost too pretty to be outside. I chose it to accentuate the riffle all ducks create while swimming on still waters. One cannot disassociate the duck from the pattern following it on ponds, lakes and rivers. 6" H x 36.5" W x 21.5" D (91.4 x 92.71 x 54.6 cm) Bronze (Cire perdue) Edition/9: each signed and numbered
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In the historic gardens at Glenstone, near Aldie, Virginia, Diana has showcased many of these sculptures in both formal and informal settings. She has played with the idea of enlarging a grassphopper, for example, to a monumental scale and taken the concept of a hornet’s nest and a honeycomb to contemporary abstract forms in her sculptures of the same name.
THE NEST
I am fascinated by nests. Hornet’s nests are bold and delicate at the same time. As they decay they become nests for other creatures. Here twigs grow out of the center and I see its abstract beauty. 66" H x 30" W x 30" D (167.64 x 76.20 x 76.20 cm) Bronze (Cire perdue) Edition/12 each signed and numbered Provenance provided
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MEZZA LUNA
The owl is an elusive, mysterious raptor seeming to dwell between worlds. Mezza Luna means eclipse of the moon. This sculpture explores that aura of half sleep/half wake, twilight/night which an eclipse symbolizes. This sculpture was enlarged to be in appropriate scale for a private garden in Virginia, as shown on the facing page. The bronze measures 36 inches high by 30 inches wide and is resting on a hickory burl base with overal dimensions of 72 inches high by 48 inches wide.
12" H x 16" W x 12" D (without stand) (31 x 41 x 31 cm) Stand: 48" H x 12" W x 12" D (122 x 31 x 31 cm) Bronze (Cire perdue) Edition/12: each signed and numbered Provenance provided
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GRASSHOPPER
Grasshopper is part of my series called “Into the Garden�. It is an homage to the insect world. In producing this sculpture I was in awe of the incredible mechanics of this bug. Every part is so beautifully articulated: at times I felt as though I was working on a mechanical toy. This sculpture is available in two sizes: display and monumental. Display size: 23" H x 32.5" W x 8.5" D Monumental size: 54" H x 66" W x 24" D Bronze on a stainless steel base Edition of 24
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SWIFT The chimney swift is both elegant and sculptural in this silhouetted study. 17" H x 8" W x 4" D (43 x 20 x 10 cm) Bronze (Cire perdue) Edition/50 each signed and numbered Provenance provided
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HONEYCOMB Honey bees are nature’s architects. How incredibly rich in texture and structure is the honeycomb with each cell designed to receive one drop of honey.
51" H x 70" W x 16" D (130 x 178 x 41 cm) Bronze on stainless steel base Edition/9: each signed and numbered Weight 450 lbs.
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TYTO Tyto was a barn owl I photographed one day while attending The Artists for Conservation Annual Exhibition in Vancouver, British Colombia at the Grouse Mountain Resort. I was so captivated by this exquisite bird. After countless photographs I chose this pose to sculpt. In this stretch he captured it all for me; mystery, grace, agility and strength. 65.5" H x 13" W x 10" D (166 x 33 x 25 cm) Bronze (Cire perdue) Edition/9 each signed and numbered Provenance provided
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DADDY LONGLEGS I spent every summer of my childhood on our family farm in Virginia and I can say with all honesty that I shared each one of them with a Daddy Longlegs. I learned early on that they really aren’t spiders but members of a family of insects called Harvestman. All I cared about were that they were pretty and smart. My great aunt Georgianna showed me how to hold them in such a way that one leg would point to answer a myriad of questions ranging from, “Which ways the cows were heading?” to “Where is my true love?” In making this sculpture I hope to be able to capture the delicate beauty of this incredible creature. 12" H x 4" W x 2" D (31 x 10 x 5 cm) Bronze (Cire perdue)
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PEACOCK
I have studied the peacock for years and realized that its fanned tail actually detracts from the pure line of its silhouette. I chose, therefore, to show the tail “at rest� and realized the beautiful classic S shape of the form allowed me to study the whole. Using a rich gold patina stippled over the entire composition enabled me to emphasize its stylized geometry and make reference to the Art Deco period. This sculpture is available in two sizes: display and monumental.
Display size: 24" H x 11" W x 5.5" W (61 x 28 x 14 cm) Monumental size: 72" H x 33" W x 16.5" D (183 x 84 x 42 cm) Bronze (Cire perdue) Edition/12: each signed and numbered
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View any of Diana’s sculptures in your own garden with her new “Imagine” service The enlargement of a sculpture in proportion to its landscape requires study. Diana uses photo manipulation to do this and offers a service called “Imagine” in which any sculpture in her collection may be "Photoshopped “into a digital image. You may find more examples of this on her website www.bronzed.net under the title “Imagine”.
STEP 1: Send a photo of where you would like a sculpture.
STEP 2: The photo comes back to you with a sculpture of your choice in place.
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Reprint of Virginia Living article
JUNE 2010
ARTS
Wild Emotion Sculptor Diana Reuter-Twining specializes in bronze works that reflect the “beauty, mystery and grace” of the animal world. BY LISA ANTONELLI BACON
Sculptor Diana Reuter-Twining is puzzled. “I can’t decide what to do with it,” she says, surveying a hefty, seven-foot-long peacock hide she keeps in the barn that is her showroom on Bull Run Farm in rural Aldie, Va. Dressed fashionably in black (save for light brown cowboy boots and brown belt with silverand-turquoise buckle), the petite, animated brunette seems more amused than perplexed as she fingers the ethereal feathers, which are tufted in five or six pounds of leathery, avian epidermis. However long it takes ReuterTwining to decide how best to transform the peacock hide into a piece of art, the resulting work likely will capture the essence of the animal. Trained as an architect and practiced as a photographer, Reuter-Twining in recent years has emerged as a sculptor distinguished for her acute observations of wildlife, from rabbit and river otter to fox and cheetah. Her bronze representations are sometimes large and, often, lifelike. “I’m inspired by the natural world,” says Reuter-Twining, “its beauty, mystery and grace.”
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Her work has appeared in numerous exhibitions—including the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Society of Animal Artists and the National Sculpture Society, and clients on three continents have bought her pieces. Typically, it takes her about six months to complete a sculpture. “She is very innovative,” says Jack Summers, owner of the Lovetts Gallery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who has several Reuter-Twining animal pieces on display. “I’ve done quite well with her work.” The average price, he estimates, is $4,500. Summers says that the sculptor’s style can be “somewhat traditional with some pieces and very contemporary with others. You could own several and not know it’s the same artist.”
In sculpture, the sketch establishes a gesture, and the gesture evokes an emotion. Integrating those elements is the challenge.” The artist, who also produces figuratives and objets d’art, has had ample opportunity to observe animals. She grew up on a farm and, when young, followed her father to exotic locales. He is a retired surgeon and professional photographer who did freelance work for National Geographic magazine.
Reuter-Twining has lived most of her 58 years on two adjacent farms that have been in her family for more than a century. Now she and husband Ned Twining (whom she calls an “enlightened philanthropist”) divide their time between their farm, Bull Run (across the road from her family homestead, Glenstone Farm), and their ranch in Savery, Wyoming. Reuter-Twining works primarily in the animalier style, a movement centered on the realistic portrayal of animals and made popular around the turn of the 20th century by Italian artist Rembrandt Bugatti. But realism is not the sole aim. The sculptor seeks to capture a subject at an emblematic moment in time, when it moves or poses in a defining way. Think the first lazy stride of a cheetah descending a plateau, for example, or the final lift of a goose’s wings before touchdown. How does she know when to freeze the subject? “Observation,” she says. “Drawing is the basis for all design.
After graduating from Hollins College (now University) in 1973 with a degree in art history, she landed a job as an interior designer for an architectural firm in Alexandria. In spare time, she took art classes at the Torpedo Factory. After two years, she enrolled in the graduate architectural program at Catholic University. After earning the degree, she worked for a couple of architectural firms and then, with a partner, opened her own shop in Washington. It wasn’t until the
mid-90s, while on a trip to Africa, that her joy for photography and drawing took a turn. After sketching a family of baboons, she told Ned that the drawing might lend itself to three-dimensional representation, and that, once back in the states, she might commission someone to turn the drawing into a sculpture. “Ned said, ‘Do it yourself,’” she recalls. She did. But not before enrolling in a program at the Corcoran School of Art, where she learned the fundamentals of sculpture, welding and making molds. “It allowed me to get to another level in my art,” she says. Within a year, she entered her first show, in Charleston, S.C. “I was a little surprised I was admitted,” she confesses. But it inspired her to focus on individualizing her style, and it wasn’t long before she’d earned a spot in the award show of the National Sculpture Society, a prestigious group founded by architects. Now 12 years into her sculpture career, ReuterTwining seems in a good artistic place because she likes working in threedimensional space. “Space is a medium, and it can be manipulated,” she says. “With painting, you’re dealing with [only] the illusion of space.” Last November, Reuter-Twining started a spin-off business. She introduced a jewelry collection that includes miniature reproductions of some of her animal works, as well as other more whimsical original pieces, cast mostly in silver and gold. Might that mean a peacock brooch is in the offing? Maybe, but first she intends to do something larger with the hide in her barn.
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The Art of Jewelry Diana’s jewelry is inspired by her sculptures. The shape and forms repeat themselves in these beautiful designs following her intricate study of subject. More information can be found on her website at www.bronzed.net.
FOX NECKLACE 18k green gold fox face, set with (2)~.50ct marquise emerald stone eyes, suspended from a leather cord with complimentary green gold accent stations on the cord, and end in an 18k green gold toggle clasp. 5 inches x 2. 5 inches. Earrings available.
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On display as art Diana worked with Richard Waller, the acclaimed frame maker Middleburg, Virginia, and together they designed prototypes for frames which would showcase her necklaces. Using the Tuscan Tabernacle Frame as found in the quatrocento the two were able to establish a prototype for these and future works. Diana is showing her work as wearable art— when it is not being worn it is displayed as traditional art would be, on a table in the living room or hanging on the wall. By weighting the frames on the bottom Mr. Waller’s frames are stable enough to sit safely on any surface. They may also be hung on the wall. TEMPTATION NECKLACE (left, shown in frame) 18k white gold tree and base, with buds of freshwater pearls and cognac diamond accents, 18k yellow gold monkey, 16 freshwater rice pearls, 1 freshwater boulder pearl, 84 champagne diamonds.
PEAR NECKLACE Two 18k gold pears, one rose gold and one yellow gold, pave set with 35 pave set sapphires per pear accented with a white gold leaf with veins of pave set orange sapphire. The overlapping white gold stems make up the necklace, adorned with buds of carnelian with yellow sapphire accents, ending in an integrated clasp. Earrings available.
GRASSHOPPER NECKLACE Two 18k yellow gold grasshopper rest on an 18k white gold vase, with a base and lip of 18k yellow gold, pave set with 18 yellow sapphires, 26 yellow sapphires pave set on top. The grasshoppers eyes are sapphires and their antenna come together to form an arch over the vase as well as the gold neckwire, and end in an 18k yellow gold toggle clasp. Earrings available.
HONEYCOMB NECKLACE 18k yellow gold honeycomb set with 13 honey colored hexagon citrines, adorned with 18k yellow gold bee, 48 pave set yellow sapphire wings, 44 mixed size orange-to-yellow gradient pave sapphire body, yellow sapphire stinger and 2 carnelian cabochon eyes. The necklace is made up of gradient color citrine beads accented by a honeycomb element, finished with an 18k yellow gold toggle clasp. Earrings available.
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Diana Reuter-Twining
Contemporary Naturalist Having been trained first as an architect and photographer, Diana has the vantage point of an intimacy with space and nature, which is made evident through her use of a bold stroke and a quick eye. Diana’s interest in art and architecture may have started after she assisted her father on a photographic assignment for the National Geographic. Diana went on to apprentice as a photographer with the magazine. She later became a registered architect. Her formal studies in art and architecture initially took her to Paris with Hollins College where she received a degree in Art History. She then went on to Catholic University where she received her Masters of Architecture. She studied sculpture at the Corcoran School of Art, Loveland Academy of Fine Arts and Scottsdale Artists’ School. Living in rural communities in the Southern United States and the American West has given Diana the opportunity to study in detail that which has become the focus of her work: the natural world. Working in Southern Africa with her husband, Ned Twining, exposed her to the philosophy of conservation science which forever changed her life. Through her art Diana hopes to engage people in becoming stewards of their own environments. She is always looking to partner with groups or individuals who share the same vision. She will donate a portion of her sales to qualifying organizations.
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Recent Titles by Diana Reuter-Twining Available at Blurb.com Published 2009
An excerpt from Bronzed: Into the Garden While organizing this book I thought how little we see of contemporary sculpture in gardens today. When we see sculpture it tends to be copies of Renaissance figures in studied poses. Ironically however, after the Renaissance came a period of art which acknowledged the Age of Reason, which came to be known as Mannerism. It was during this period that artists played with the new reality that man was no longer “the center of the universe” and in this age of discovery a sculpture’s purpose might be to ask a larger question of how he fit into this new world.
Published 2010
An excerpt from Bronzed II: Drawn from Nature It all starts with the line. Sculpture for me is the exploration of gesture, emotion and memory. Working with a camera allows me to focus and frame subjects from all angles but it isn’t until I am in my studio with my sketchbook and pencil that all of that begins to synthesize.
Published 2012
An excerpt from The Art of Jewelry and Sculpture Diana’s jewelry is wearable art. When it is not being worn it is displayed as traditional art would be: on a table in the living room or hanging on the wall.
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