Michael Dunbar — in describing the joy he receives from the perfection of the elements of his sculpture — says “I take great pleasure in achieving joints of suchprecision that you can’t get dental floss through them.” This comment exemplifies his approach to his work, which manifests a combination of mathematical relationships and mechanical exactness. His large-scale work does not display fluidity of form or impulsive emotion; it is the result of well-thought-out three-dimensional drawings and carefully calibrated maquettes that reflect the artist’s machine-age sensibility. In no way do these processes eliminate imagination, animation, or aesthetics; they are merely subjugated to his industrial bent. Positive and negative elements of material and space do flow, but that flow is carefully controlled rather than vaguely free-form or anthropomorphic. Dunbar is meticulous in design and precise in execution and his sculptures exhibit a mechanical resonance that has an effect beyond the viewer’s immediate response. Born in Santa Paula, California in 1947, Dunbar moved with his family to Springfield, Illinois, when he was four. He received his BA and MA degrees from the University of Illinois, Springfield, and an MS degree from Illinois State University, Normal. Over the years he has studied Community Arts Management, commercial art and cartooning. However, it is as a sculptor that Dunbar has become known; he has received many major commissions as well as being the subject of a monograph and a feature length documentary film. In addition, he was a recent recipient of an award from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Selflessly, Dunbar has given back to the Illinois art community by co-founding the Pier Walk at Navy Pier in Chicago, where he afforded other artists the opportunity to exhibit their work in a major public space. More information on this artist can be found at
http://www.michaeldunbarsculpture.com/ | | 
Cassiopeia, 2009
bronze plate
66" x 72" x 108"
Courtesy of the Artist |
