From a solid piece of wood with a history all its own, Mike Medow envisions a three-dimensional sculpture and begins to subtract from the organic material to create his piece. One of the things so amazing about Medow's carvings is how he has learned to embrace the natural lines of the wood, the veins and knots, not to disguise them as flaws, but incorporate them and let them lead him in refining his vision. Each subtraction is a revelation from which the image emerges. Unlike clay, the carver does not add to the form, so each delicate subtraction is final.

Medow, a prolific sculptor since 1967, has worked with many varieties of woods, marble, limestone and alabaster. When he moved to Arizona in 1987 he discovered an indigenous tree to carve, the large alligator juniper from Northern Arizona. He has completed commissions as small as ½ lb. and as large as 700 lbs. and is in national and international collections including Germany, Sweden, Norway, Spain, England, Mexico and Canada. He has been in the Phoenix Art Institute, the West Valley Art Museum and the Palm Springs Museum. Also, his works were featured on a two year Arizona Arts Museum tour. Publications including Fine Woodworking, Arizona Highways, Art Gallery International and Playboy Magazine have highlighted his sculptures.

Inspiration & Philosophy

Mike Medow is awestruck by the magnificent land formations of the West and those forms are echoed in the full and robust figures. The human forms reflect the hills and valleys of the Southwest landscape, which he calls "figurescapes." This self-taught artist deals with symmetries and shifting centers as if he had written a master thesis on the subject. From an innate sensitivity and intuition come the subtleties within Medow's compositions. The fact that Medow is a direct carver is quite significant, in that sculpture is as much a tactual art form as it is visual. The carver, more than any other sculptor, uses his chisel as a sense organ while creating his work. Rarely does Medow use a power tool. He is constantly touching and feeling the sculpture's surface to decide how and where to proceed. As a result, it will always be the carver who encourages the viewer to touch.

Mike Medow is a very serious sculptor. When asked, he says a worthwhile work of art must have true holding and staying power. It should be something of which one will not tire. Truly important art will summon the viewer back repeatedly and always offer new intrigue and interest on several different levels.