Top notch sculptors in Hamilton County

John Van Alstine

Top notch sculptors in Hamilton County

By PETE KLEIN

WELLS—A few years back, I visited and wrote about sculptor John Van Alstine and his wife and fellow sculptor, Caroline Ramersdofer, who live and work in Wells. Both continue to pursue their craft and make a living from it by the commissioned work they do.

Works by Van Alstine have been permanently installed on the grounds of the Albany Institute and The Hyde Collection, which will mount a retrospective exhibition of his art next summer.

Wikipedia reports of him, “Van Alstine works primarily with granite and steel mediums in a large-scale format. He is known for stone and metal abstract sculptures exhibiting exceptional balance and poise. The works are often multilevel with references to the figure, classical, nautical, celestial and western mythological themes. Stone is used in an assemblage method, the way a welder uses steel, rather than in the traditional manner of subtraction. His work has touched on themes of Greek mythology, specifically the myth of Sisyphus. In 2008, Van Alstine was one of 50 artists to have his work chosen to be display at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The piece displayed, Rings of Unity – Circles of Inclusion, was based on the Sisyphus myth, consisting of a large piece of stone suspended in the middle of a 16-foot ring made of bronze. The piece took two weeks to create in a foundry. As of 2008, Van Alstine was represented by David Floria Gallery in Aspen, Colorado. Prominent solo gallery exhibitions have included Gerald Peters in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Nohra Haime in New York City; and C. Grimaldis Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland.”

Wikipedia say of Ramersdorfer, “She is an Austrian-born sculptor with studios in upstate New York and Feldkirch in Vorarlberg, Austria. Her work, both small scale and monumental, has gained an international following, with permanent installations in Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean. Ramersdorfer works in marble and granite, often in combination with steel, using light and space to create physical and spiritual interiors.

On October 19, Van Alstine will help celebrate the publication of a new monograph about his work at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCa) in North Adams with an exhibition and moderated artist’s talk.

To learn more and see more of his work, check him out on Facebook.

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