Gerard Cox - Wood Sculpture

Art and nature are branches of the one tree. For me sculpture is an attempt to symbolically express both the spirit of the human psyche and the essence of nature through the medium of wood.

I work with wood because it retains characteristics of the living tree from whence it came. When cut and seasoned I see it as a body of energy whose curves, twists and grain open and close, almost breathing, according to the temperature and humidity of the seasons. In each piece of wood this opens up various sculptural possibilities. The finished work is the result of constant interaction between my ideas and the wood's intrinsic nature as the sculpture evolves. Nothing is arbitrary, each work has an underlying motive or explanation, not necessarily immediately accessible.For me it is important to retain an element of mystery in the relationship between viewer and sculpture.

Working with wood I have come to understand it as the material that most closely expresses human nature in all its varied characteristics.