Gift of Waqas Wajahat and the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving in honor of Lawrence J. Wheeler
This abstract sculpture does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a real fish. It uses shape, color, form, and line to capture the essence (the basic or most important qualities) of a fish. The sculpture is made of bronze that has developed a blue-green patina. This color is the natural result of oxidation, the process that occurs when the copper content in bronze combines with oxygen. The patina layer protects the metal from further corrosion.
James Prosek is a self-taught artist who creates sculptures, paintings, and drawings. His work explores the human need to classify and categorize nature in order to understand it. He interprets and depicts the natural world based on his personal experiences.
We allow ourselves to believe that nature can be explained. In the process we confine nature to those explanations.
James Prosek
In addition to being an artist, Prosek is a naturalist, environmental activist, writer, and fly-fishing expert. He has written more than a dozen books about fish and fishing, including two books for young readers. Many of his books are illustrated with his watercolor paintings of fish. In 2004 Prosek and environmentalist Yvon Chouinard founded a conservation initiative called World Trout. Their program raised money for habitat conservation through the sale of T-shirts featuring Prosek’s trout paintings.
Prosek has been referred to as the “Audubon of the fishing world.” John James Audubon painted hundreds of life-size images of birds in The Birds of America (published between 1827 and 1838). Audubon’s work is one of Prosek’s biggest art inspirations.
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