Concentric Sphere -A sculpture by Richard Yaski
The Mendocino Botanical Gardens is privileged to exhibit a monumental sculpture by acclaimed artist Richard Yaski. Located between the perennial garden and the dry garden, "Concentric Sphere," three rings of welded steel, 8 feet in diameter, 20 feet long, and weighing thousands of pounds was recently installed at the beginning of June.
When asked about the inspiration behind these 3 massive concentric rings, Yaski replied, "Most of us, including myself are often anywhere but here in the moment. We're living in our heads. When we come up to a wall of steel with a hole in it, we look through it, drawn into the present moment, and seeing beyond as for the first time, we say, "How beautiful!". "The irony is that if we look around us, many things we fail to notice are also amazingly beautiful. We often need something to help focus our attention to notice what's around us. My process is about centering on what is in front of us, creating a focusing device, a bulls eye of sorts, with the present in the center. More and more I am consciously doing this. My sculpture, "The Tenth Gate" is a 12'X12' wall of 1" plate steel with a 6 foot hole in it. This piece was on loan to the Spirit Rock Meditation Center for 13 years. They recognized the power in it. For years people circumambulated it in a walking meditation. It can now be visited at Shibui Sculpture Garden.
I also am using materials that embody the idea of Shibui, the Japanese term that recognizes that objects develop their beauty, their patina, their presence through the passage of time, and age with grace, much like people. With this metaphor in mind, I am working with antique bronze and copper patinas, rust on metal, and cracks and fissures in textures of the earth."
"Art is a combination of the holy, the profane and the present moment," muses Richard Yaski. Starting his journey in art from Los Angeles' Chouinard Institute 43 years ago, the prominent Mendocino Coast sculptor and teacher, lives in the moment with his art and his life. In full welding gear, Yaski is a gentle giant as he melts and fuses raw metals into profound works of art in his towering Little River studio. The moment is rarefied: the sparks fly; his approach is bold and sure, his heart open to truth as it is revealed. The works that flow out of his studio are exquisite, plentiful and come in many sizes. Uniquely, Yaski is the only sculptor on the North Coast that is doing monumental outdoor metal sculptures and fountains on commission. Smaller in scale and cost are his table top and wall pieces.
He works passionately in bronze, stainless, painted and Cor-Ten steel; copper, aluminum, stone and leather. He sculpts with fire, metal and space. From a deep, quiet place inside, his art comes through him. He is a conduit, a birth father. Today, his art works are in collections that span the globe from Russia's Kremlin to the Detroit International Airport to the Mendocino Coast. He is exploring using light as a medium, working with fiber optics, laser and incandescent lighting sources to integrate light into sculpture as an integral part of it, rather than just an illuminating agent.
For over a decade, Yaski taught welding and metal sculpture through the Mendocino Art Center at his Little River studio. . He is presently taking a break to devote more time to making sculpture.
A true 70's pioneer, Yaski arrived in Mendocino in a converted school bus, his home during the early years. To financially support his dream of becoming a metal sculptor, he became a building contractor. He ended up designing and building his home, now considered a showplace, landscaping his land and adding a spectacular studio. His studio, home and grounds are couched in a majestic setting: soaring redwood forest, waterfalls, fern canyons, all enhanced by Yaski's superb sculpting of the surrounding terrain, creating a park-like ambiance. He has created Shibui Sculpture Garden, an extraordinary 5 acre sculpture park, nestled in the redwoods, adjoining a 400 acre nature preserve in Little River.
From this extensive background, he developed his organizational, project management, and teamwork skills into the field of architectural commissions. Consequently, Yaski has worked for years with architects, clients and designers creating custom architectural sculptural elements for the private art collector as well as the corporate world. He delights in collaboration, citing a house that was once constructed specifically to accommodate a fountain he built into the wall.
Yaski gladly gives private tours of his work and studio, located at Shibui Sculpture Garden, in Little River by appointment.
For more information:
Call: 707-937-0075
Email:richard@yaski.com
Write: Richard Yaski, Box 333, Little River, CA 95456