Artist: Steve Winterburn
Dimensions: 65cm x 45cm x 34cm
Weight: 35kg
Price: £15,000
Edition Size: 19
Material: Bronze on Granite
Steve Winterburn has been involved with many primate and ape conservation project over the years, working with experts from around the world, and built a close relationship with the amazing team at Monkey World in Dorset. During this time he fell in awe to the unique beauty of the Orangutan species, with their quirky characteristics and their high level intelligence it was only a matter of time before this admiration became inspiration.
With this being a portrait study, Steve opted to sculpt a flanged alpha male arguably one of the most striking portraits in the ape kingdom. The textures created by the unique tool work compliments the subject perfectly, the strong powerful tooling strokes create a real essence of masculinity encapsulating that alpha male presence. Finishing this piece off nicely is a rich burnt orange patina, mirroring that of the orangutans warm coloured fur, this gives the piece a real contemporary edge adding dynamics and character.
This piece is one of a new line of sculptures by Steve; wildlife portraits. By focusing the subject down to just the portrait the emphasis is all on the character and feel of the animals’ features. Eyes have always been something that captivate people when they see Steve’s sculptures in person, when talking about eyes he said “Eyes are so important to me because eyes are the doorway to the soul”. The way he sculpts them draws you in and makes the animal and story of the piece so easy to connect with. This combined with his new loose and powerful style, he creates individual personalities beautifully with these portraits.
