The Language of Wood

Sculpting is an Act of Faith for Heiner Guido

by Howler Staff Photos courtesy of Heiner Guido

For Costa Rican sculptor Heiner Guido, wood is much more than the raw material he uses to create captivating works of art. It’s a communication medium — something solid and immobile that speaks to him before being brought to life through his imagination.

As the header text on Guido’s website conveys, “The wood itself has its own language, its color, its texture, the years lost in silence disintegrating in the forest, combined with the hands of the sculptor and faith.”

On a separate web page, Heiner elaborates on the role that faith — intermixed with talent and technique — plays in his artistic process.

“So in order to be able to create in a free and determined way, in addition to accumulating technical knowledge, anatomy, composition, drawing, I am strengthening my faith. With faith, we can see things that have not happened yet, and work without seeing anything, but with the certainty of what will happen.”

Similarly, belief is the “fuel of creation” that enables Guido to embrace every artistic challenge.

“You can't create anything if you don't first believe it can be done,” he says. “Many of us want something that we're sure we won't have. But how is something going to come into your life that you're sure you won't have?”

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