​Contemporary South African Art

Nano Lopez

Nano Lopez is an artist gifted with the rare ability to see the world as a child sees it, with exploration, wonder, and creativity. He is deeply fascinated by the sometimes troubling mysteries of life and its inherent struggles. Nano Lopez was born in 1955 in Bogota Colombia. At 23 Nano Lopez began working as an apprentice in a monumental scale carving marble and granite and fabricating steel. In 1983 Nano Lopez moved to the Pacific Northwest of the United States. During the following four years, he was employed by various bronze foundries in the Northwest, and further developed his abilities in welding, tooling, and patinas evolving into the artist that we admire today. In Nano Lopez's artistic process, Nano Lopez integrates organic textures and synthetic, and man made objects into his bronzes to create art that reflects the same depth and richness he sees in the world around him. Although colorful and whimsical, Nano Lopez's work is anything but child's play and invites careful, sustained viewing. The rich and intricate textures and bright colors are subtlety evocative of Nano Lopez's native Colombia and of other Latin art, but Lopez's depth of understanding and free associations transcend culture and time.

For Nano, the entire sculpting process begins with his initial conceptual sketches. He then creates a small working model in clay. Following that, he will then sculpt the piece actual size. In his artistic process, Nano integrates organic textures and human-made objects into his bronzes to create pieces of art that reflect the same depth and richness he sees in the world around him. The sculptures unique elements become part ofthe final piece in several ways. They may be embedded, applied to the surface, or even indented in the actual clay.