Bruce Mitchell is a West Marin artist who has been working with wood for over five decades. Bruce started his career in woodworking in 1969 when, at the age of nineteen, he apprenticed to sculptor JB Blunk. The first project he worked on with Blunk was the monumental redwood burl seating sculpture titled PLANET that was commissioned by the Oakland Museum for its opening that year. Bruce continued to work with Blunk over the next seven years on a number of public and private commissions before opening his own studio in 1977. The chainsaw carving techniques he learned from Blunk have played a major role in his sculptural work that he creates entirely from salvaged tree stumps and logs from all over northern California.
Bruce began teaching himself how to use a wood lathe in 1977 and drew inspiration for his early turned vessels from the ceramic traditions of China, Japan and Korea. As Bruce developed his technique with those refined, classic forms he began to explore the sculptural potential of those vessels, carving into the surfaces to produce a unique genre of sculptural vessels.A number of those works are now in the permanent collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum of Art, The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Detroit Institute of Art, the Yale University of Art Museum and several others.
In addition to his sculptural vessels, Bruce creates a wide range of salad bowls, tables, stools, benches and abstract forms at his studio in Inverness, California.
Artist Reception with Bruce Mitchell
Friday, September 17 from 5-6 p.m.
This virtual event will feature a conversation with the artist discussing several pieces, followed by a Q&A session. Registration required; register via Eventbrite. This event is free; donations are encouraged. To donate, please visit our donation page here and mention this event by name in the comments section.
Purchasing Art –
To purchase Bruce Mitchell’s art, send an email to brucemitchell@horizoncable.com. A portion of the proceeds goes to support the Dance Palace.