Sedona AZ (March 11, 2014) – As an artist, Sedona’s Carol Gandolfo is nothing if not versatile. Her first big success was as a photographer three decades ago, when her image of her cat Cinnamon appeared on the cover of a photography magazine and became one of the world’s best selling posters.
But in her case, one medium definitely leads to another, and yet another. She moved on to pastels, acrylics, and oils, along the way studying with such renowned masters as Paul Davis, Carolyn Ensley, and Gretchen Lopez. And more recently, she has turned to sculpture.
Gandolfo’s first publicly available bronze sculpture will be unveiled during a champagne reception at Hillside’s Pop Up Sedona Gallery on Friday, March 14, 5-7 PM. The piece, titled God’s Warrior, will be on display through mid-April, and the public is cordially invited to meet the artist and enjoy the festivities at the reception.
Gandolfo has a background as a practicing clinical psychologist, and her psychological insights resonate throughout her works. God’s Warrior, a bronze bust of an African man wearing symbols of multiple religions, is a moving exploration of the depth and ubiquity of religious feelings and convictions across diverse cultures.
Gandolfo got her start as a sculptor through studies of animal figures under local master Ken Rowe. But she was inexorably drawn to the creation of human forms and faces, which she studied under John Soderberg and Mike Trcic.
“I seem to be invoking universal human themes as my sculptures take shape,” she notes. “I don’t necessarily have one in mind when I start, but the act of forming clay into a human figure always gets me thinking about the underlying strengths and struggles of the individual I’m sculpting.”
Gandolfo’s psychological bent is equally evident in two additional pieces she currently has in the works. Self Flagellation is about guilt and the possibility of freeing oneself from it, and Reaching A Greater Energy is an outgrowth of her work to help individuals turn anger into constructive motivation and energy.
Pop Up Gallery is a co-op of local artists representing a wide variety of visual art. The venue is also committed to giving back to the community. Thus, a portion of all sales helps to support Camp Soaring Eagle or other local charities.
Pop Up Sedona Gallery is located on the upper courtyard of Hillside Sedona Center, 671 State Route 179 (about ½ mile south of the “Y” in Sedona). The venue’s hours are 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM daily. For more information, call (928) 282-8143 or visit www.pop-upsedonagallery.com .