Massive Sculptures Turn Heads on Campus

Wednesday afternoon, trucks wheeled onto campus with the massive outdoor sculptures, then delicately lifted them into place. Wheelwright works with natural materials, allowing chunks of stone, trees, and found bones inspire him, then using skill and wit to turn nature’s detritus into art.

“This exhibit contains so much creativity and original vision,” says photography teacher Monika Andersson, who curated the exhibit. “There is a playfulness, and the sense of magical realism is so strong and convincing that it connects the viewer not only to the world we live in, but to the lineage of a human history that interprets the unknown through myth and legend."

Greeting visitors by the door to the Dillon Art Center is “Vincent” a larger-than-life, one-eared homage to Vincent Van Gogh, in granite. Nearby are “Skull,” “Clown,” and “Rock Star.” One outdoor piece, the towering "Tree Figure #16", was fashioned from a pine tree. Inside the gallery are numerous sculptures, including a "Couple" made of stone yet somehow full of character, an oversized dog crafted from a tree, and various smaller sculptures, in turn beautiful, peaceful, creepy, and evocative.