NCCANorth Coast Contemporary Arts Presents
Artist Cleo Hartwig

BIOGRAPHY

Photos of Artist Cleo Hartwig

Cleo Hartwig Reproductions Now Available through Olivia Smith Designs: www.oliviasmithdesign.com

Cleo Hartwig (1907-1988) left behind an extraordinary body of work, some of which resides in the nation's finest museums. Throughout her long and respected career, Cleo Hartwig had an enduring fascination with the multifaceted forms of nature.  This she demonstrated by taking both plant and animal forms, enlarging them, and then examining the very substance of their composition.  This masterly bio-morphism was Cleo Hartwig's trademark, and under her keen eye these large-than-life forms became deeply revelatory of the essence of their subject, in effect creating a fresh view of its shape and spirit.  Her plants- from the laurel bud to the seed pod- embody the passive dignity of natural forms, while her animals- from the friendly mouse to the owlet- capture the humor and sweetness of animal life.

The human figure was also of governing import in the lifework of Cleo Hartwig.  Featuring various media, from clay to stone, wood, and bronze, her figurative work is arresting in its simplicity and the nobility of its expression.

Her working methods, both slow and deliberate, are best described in an article on Cleo Hartwig by Enid Bell, in American Artist:

"An exponent of direct carving, she does not refer to a pre-conceived three-dimensional model, and only occasionally makes preliminary sketches from life.  The concept, derived from a memory image, evolves during contemplative consideration of the mass, formation decisions being reached in the unhurried process of reduction with bush hammers, chisels, and rasps.  She prefers this equipment to power tools which, because of their mechanical impetus, are alien to contemplation, tending to propel the user into the fatality of doing too much too soon."

MORE CLEO HARTWIG
Nature Forms The Animal Series Abstractions Birds
The Human Figure Biography Reproductions video

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