David Pearson's Bronzes Transcend Divisions to Elevate All Spirits

There are as many unique spiritual quests are there are people. Whether hardwired in the brain and nervous system or a function of deity present in the pure spirit within, the seeking of the soul is a near-universal human odyssey. The quest for Heaven, enlightenment, nirvana, paradise, samadhi - however one understands it - has united and divided persons, cultures, and civilizations throughout human history. When someone comes along whose life work transcends division and reminds us in the most beautiful and collaborative way of our connectedness, it gives occasion for celebration and encouragement for hope.

Such a person is Santa Fe sculptor, David Pearson. His bronzes reach people across theusual human divides and categorizations. His collectors might first be attracted by the sheer beauty of vertically elongated portrayals of women, men, and angels in bronze. Subtlespiritual references and emotional cues within and among the figures only augment and intensify the attraction.

Delicate white birds often appear in Pearson's bronzes, usually in numbers with far greatersignificance than mere inventory. Threes, sevens, twelves, have mystical significance inreligions and cosmologies throughout human history. Pearson obscures facesin some figures, intending to let the viewer get inside rather respond to any particular face. He uses drapery as a metaphor for smoke, which is itself a metaphor for prayer made visible. Pearson expresses things that are intangible and often ephemeral in the paradoxical solidity and permanence of bronze. His astute interpretations of elemental human emotions andaspirations arise from the artist's own purity of inspiration and generosity of soul.

Having grown up in Tesuque, Pearson began working at Shidoni foundry as an apprentice at the age of 15. His life has been geared toward sculpture ever since. His rapid mastery of every phase of fine-art foundry work led to career phases as Foundry Director, Patina Master, Foundry designer and builder, and the one closest to his heart, Master Sculptor.

Pearson and his wife, Patty, planned and built a studio, home, stable, and gardens on twenty special acres in the Galisteo Basin. They found acreage where natural vegetation, undulating terrain, and forever views conspire to create the enlivening experience of being at an energy vortex. "My main focus as I work is feeling in the art and in the space I workin," Pearson says. He seems to gather light as multiple natural, spiritual, and creativeenergiesflow down from the dynamic New Mexico sky and bubble up from the earth. Pearsonhas always been attracted to beautiful things made permanent. He sees in the monuments of antiquity life recorded in stone. He has turned his own collection of specimen rocks into an astronomically accurate, Stonehenge-like arrangement to mark and celebrate the equinoxes and solstices.

Quietly, deliberately, effortlessly, Pearson concentrates the energies within and around him in every bronze he creates. These positive and powerful energies then flow out again, into the awareness of people who are attuned to those realities we can know but cannot see. "To touch people is the most important aspect of my art," says Pearson. "We all go through our own Truth. To uplift the soul is the greatest thing." Serenity, peace, and an all-encompassing spirituality constitute as much of the mass and gravitas of Pearson's bronze figures as the dense and durable metal itself. Their grace and nobility come entirely from Pearson's wise mind, loving heart, and exceptionally skillful hands.

by Wolfgang Mabry