Scott McNeill combines award winning bas-relief sculpture with superimposed painting. The result is a new art form that transcends single pointed perception. The sculptures are complex, and range between realistic and the surreal. Acrylic paint is applied directly on the sculpture and forms its own imagery. Together these two mediums form an artwork bigger and deeper than the sum of its parts.
Through his masterful and intricate wood sculptures he creates one level of imagery close up. But step back and you’ll find that the paint he uses to color the wood forms another picture. The effect is a unique visual language where time, space and perspective are intimately entwined. He was born in Washington D.C. in 1969 and after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from Clemson University (1991) became a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras. His assignment took him to ‘the woodcarving capital’/ artisan village, Valle de Angeles, where he worked as a consultant to the National Association of Honduran Artists (A.N.A.H.). During the two-year span of his service he worked closely with hundreds of artisans (on projects ranging from business analysis to craft exportation and participation at international art fairs). At the end of his Peace Corps term, he was disillusioned about returning to the United States and so continued living in the country, working as a craft exporter. One year later he was invited to apprentice relief woodcarving from one of the country’s most renowned masters. Scott was quickly recognized as having una gracia (a gift). And for the next year and a half, he worked side by side amongst the country’s finest woodcarvers. Shortly after returning to the United States (96), he developed/ discovered his style of ‘multidimensional expression’ by painting superimposed imagery over his relief sculptures. He currently works out of his studio in Licthfield Park, AZ and his works are in over 60 private collections. |
