Vince Skelly — Adams and Ollman

Vince Skelly: New Works
February 12–March 13, 2021

Surface Magazine: For Vince Skelly, Wood Carving Is a Meditative Act

Vince Skelly (b. 1987, Claremont, California; lives and works in Portland, OR) creates carved wooden sculptures, both formal and functional. Using wood from a variety of trees native to the Pacific Northwest in addition to American chestnut and eucalyptus, Skelly works reductively to shape each stool, chair, or abstract form from a single block. Following grain, patterns, knots, and other irregularities inherent to the material, Skelly highlights simple and essential abstract shapes informed by intrinsic characteristics of the material. The sculptures are inspired by various traditions of wood carving—which is one of the oldest artforms—as well as by a history of objects that extends back to megalithic dolmens, ancient figurines, the sculptures of Brancusi, and paintings of Philip Guston. With a chainsaw and traditional hand tools, Skelly slowly reveals biomorphic volumes, off-kilter angles, and carved portals within his glyph-like forms, each bearing their own spirit, rhythm and personality.

Skelly received his BA from San Francisco State University. This is the artist’s debut solo exhibition.