Congratulations to Christian Ashdale for earning his place as Finalist in the Boynes Artist Award 8th Edition [Young Artist Category]!

Who are you?

I was born and raised in New York City, constantly going to museums since I was a baby. I had a ten-year career as a child actor but had always been drawn to figurative art and sculpture. Being an artist felt more like a necessity than a choice. I studied anatomy and the figure at The Art Students League of New York, The National Academy Museum and School, and with sculptor Sabin Howard for 6 years. I received my BFA from The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2022.

What inspired you to utilize sculpture as a medium?

I’ve always been obsessed with three dimensions and never felt that drawings, paintings or photographs could truly capture what’s in my imagination like 3D work can. I particularly love the figure in sculpture because I love the human body and see it as a piece of perfect engineering.

How would you describe your work?

I’d describe my work as three-dimensional line drawings that celebrate humanity, and command the space that they are in.

Can you discuss the inspiration and thought process behind your finalist work?

This piece is inspired by Michelangelo’s study drawing for the Libyan Sibyl.

Harmony was designed in unison with a companion piece called Strife. Harmony being open and uplifting and Strife writhing and contorting. The pair represent the two internal extremes, one is at harmony with itself while the other is writhing with internal conflict and agony. Harmony is moving forward His arms outstretched and legs moving as if he is about to step up and embrace someone. The other piece explores the twisted and writhing feelings of strife, bitterness and deep internal conflict. One hand shielding his face as if warding a blow, while his other hand slung across his body and his legs and torso uncomfortably twist around in internal agony.

Can you walk us through the technical steps of creating “Harmony”?

First, I bend a wire armature into the shape of a figure and loosely posed it into the seated pose I was looking for. I attached the armature to a block of urethane foam using drywall screws. Then, I used oil-based clay and metal tools to sculpt the figure. Using friends and myself in the mirror as models, I sculpted both Strife and Harmony at the same time. There was a constant tweaking of the pose and refinement of the form and gesture. Next, I made a silicone rubber mold of the figure. Because of the complex pose I had to cut the figure’s arms off and mold those separately. After the mold was finished, I brushed a variety of metallic mica powders into it and cast the sculpture in pigmented black resin using fiberglass as reinforcement. The arms were cast the same way, then glued on, and the seam lines filled and sanded.

What do you hope to communicate to an audience with your work?

I’m not entirely sure how to answer this, there’s not one correct message or story I’m trying to tell with most of my work and I like to leave specific interpretations up to the audience. What does it say to you?

Can you talk about your biggest learning experience during the process of creating your work?

The biggest learning experience working on this sculpture was in the mold making process, and time management through the whole project. These molds were very complex, and I had never made a mold like it before. The rigid mother mold had to be split into four separate pieces in order to be removable. Since Harmony and its companion piece Strife were made together and on a reasonably tight deadline, managing the time while creating two pieces back-to-back was quite a struggle. I had to stop sculpting the figures before I was “finished” with them so that I could make the molds and have the pieces completed on time.

What projects are you working on currently?

I’m currently working on several different new projects, some of them are sculpture based, and others not so much. Everything new is in very early stages, but the main thing I’m working on right now is creating fragments of my current set of sculptures. I love the idea that a seemingly incomplete or broken piece can stand on its own as an intentional “finished” work of art. It also creates more uniqueness for cast pieces, when casting or cutting a fragment, no two pieces are the same.

What is your dream project or piece you hope to accomplish?

Totally random, but a dream project for me would be to work on a Batman costume for Warner Brothers. I love the art direction and cross medium work that’s often done on these large budget movies, blending sculpture and art with pop culture. Surprisingly, even in the digital age some of these costumes are hand sculpted and designed in clay before being scanned and refined on the computer.

As a finalist, do you have any advice for artists who want to submit to awards, competitions, residencies, etc.?

Just go for it!! Sometimes the piece that gets chosen is the least you expect! I submitted several pieces for this award, and Harmony, the piece that was chosen, was the one I least expected to!!!

Lastly, I like to ask everyone what advice they would give to their fellow artists, what is your advice?

If I were to give advice to other artists, I’d say have faith in yourself and your vision, and don’t be afraid to put the time in. Creating art takes dedication.

To view more of Christian Ashdale’s work :

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