Sean Guerrero

I came upon Sean Guerrero and his work in a funny way.  I was working on my last blog about Liza Lou while the History Channel's Modern Marvels was on.  This particular episode was about Chrome and Modern Marvels spotlighted Guerrero as chrome sculptor.  Perfect timing :]  

Sean Guerrero is a sort of modern cowboy.  He grew up in Denver, Colorado, "rounding up" recycled materials for his art such as wood, plastic, and steel.  But he fell in love with chrome plated steel and to this day, chrome, particularly from old car bumpers, is his medium of choice. In his artist statement, Guerrero explained, "I remember as a kid I was always fascinated by the look of the cars that were built in the 1940's, 50's, and 60's.  The shape and design gave each one it's own personality.  I never would have imagined that I would one day make a living off of them the way I do.  Using cut up sections of those old, brilliant chrome bumpers, I reshape and weld their pieces into larger than life sculptures, preserving their essence."



 What he went on to say in his artist statement was beautiful, "I envisioned them (the old cars) as old buffalo that never completely decayed and crumbled into the earth again; different herds of steel buffalo-- Pontiacs, Chryslers, Chevys, and Buicks-- that all ran together on their prairies of concrete and asphalt."

Shown below is one of his medieval works depicting the battle between a fierce dragon and a knight in shining armor.  I love when he sculpts medieval knights! He has an entire gallery of horses but also themes his works around fantasy creatures and scenes, wildlife, sci-fi, function pieces, and even abstract pieces.

I love how Sean Guerrero gives life and animation to his works.  He does this a few different ways; One way is by placing different sizes or cuts of chrome in a way that depicts muscle structure and movement. Another technique is to fashion the individual pieces with different widths and placing them in such a way that implies (whether they are depicting feathers, mane, tail, or even a body mass) that they are in moving, being swept back by the wind.  I love art that has lots of motion or depicts movement.  The bronco to the right is my favorite.

Some don't appreciate Guerrero's works, saying that the subject matter of his massive and most popular sculptures (mostly being horses, other animals) is too simple and that artwork should keep the viewer continually discovering. To me, what's fun about Sean Guerrero's art is that he loves and is fascinated by the materials he works with.  To me, that's the art of Guerrero's art.  He is obsessive about his work.

In Guerrero's opinion,"...by giving them back their dignity (talking about the old cars's materials again) through a reinterpreted form of physical artistic expression- a welded sculpture containing bits and pieces of their still recognizable original element- do I become a preservationist? ...Whether it's a 14 foot rearing stallion or an imposing Knight on a Horse, I feel that through the reinterpretations I've created over the years I've preserved their strength and style like a monument to their dignity."

Here are just a few more works that I couldn't bear to leave out of this blog.Here are couple examples of his "functional" pieces; car-bumper benches!

Some examples of his wildlife art that feels so natural.  Probably due to the size of the works and the muscle-like structure of the chrome pieces.   

Lastly, there is a monument in Land of Memory Cemetery (Hwy 287 N, Palestine, TX) which Sean Guerrero contributed.  The Monument reads: 

I love, love LOVE the movement and energy in this work.  It's absolutely breathtaking! I think Guerrero did a beautiful job integrating both bold and sleek chrome pieces in order to describe the angel's form.  The figure is balanced and resembles a hood ornament one would see on an old luxury car.  A fitting design for a form made from car bumpers!  This chrome piece is a tribute to all that Sean Guerrero's art is about.