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Description:
This
commission, a two-dimensional sculpture, is located at the entrance
to a commercial complex at Warner Road and McClintock Drive. The
piece is 24 feet x 9
feet.
Funding:
This project was funded by the individual developer as a requirement
of Tempe's Art in Private Development Ordinance.
Artist biography:
As a painter and
sculptor, Metz uses a realist style to explore subjects relating to
the Old West. He grew up in Chicago where he received his art
training. He settled in
Scottsdale in 1971. His work is included in many collections in
Arizona including those of Valley National Bank and of the Wrigley
Mansion. He has exhibited in the Biltmore Celebrity Show in Los
Angeles, the Governors’ Invitational in Cheyenne, Wy., and the
Peppertree Americana in Santa Ynez, Calif.
Artist’s process:
Metz
paints from the heart, capturing historical scenes with a clarity
and presence that dates back to the mid 1800's to the time of the
mountain men, the pioneers and the cattlemen who gave our country
its foundation. Sometimes departing from these themes that his
collectors have come to expect, Metz also enjoys painting florals,
fly fishing scenes and landscapes, which have also captured a wide
following. All of these subjects underscore his free spirit and his
continuing enjoyment of the outdoors. By riding into wilderness area
on horseback, snow-shoeing in the high country in winter and
observing the different qualities of air and the resonance of light,
Metz is better able to imagine what the people in his paintings
might have experienced. This essence of realism and the great
emotional range that they span, captures for all the true Spirit of
the West. |
