An Exhibition of Marian Sculpture

by Rose Van Vranken

Exhibited at the Marian Library: October 13 - December 31, 1992 Rose Van Vranken was raised in Southern California and feels a profound influence from the art community in the Los Angeles area. At age nine, she started formal art training in sculpture with a noted Hollywood portrait sculptor. She earned her undergraduate degree with honors in art from Pomona College. She attributes a major factor in her artistic development to the Art Students League in New York City. Three Years were spent there studying under master carvers, William Zorach and Robert Laurent. Ms. Van Vranken received her Master of Arts degree in Sculpture from the University of Iowa. View additional works by Rose Van Vranken at: (artliaison.org/vanvranken/)

Mother and Child Bronze

Mother and Child Bronze

The artist says of her work: "My sculpture forms are primarily based on nature - plants, sea forms, animals, rocks and people. The semi-abstract forms are designed to capture the basic spirit or essence of the subject, and are influenced by early Greek, Chinese and Egyptian art. The fundamental technique is direct carving in stone or wood, then bronze castings are made from the carvings. Besides the carving, I have experimented with other material and have made castings in handmade paper, polyester resin and fiberglass, and have combined techniques of carving and modeling together."

Mother and Child

Ms. Van Vranken is concurrently exhibiting at the Biblical Arts Center Museum in Dallas, Texas, through November, 1992. She mounted a retrospective sculpture exhibition at the C.G. Jung Center in Houston, Texas, in May-June, 1992. Her work is also on display at the S.R. Brennan Gallery in Palm Desert, California. Ms. Van Vranken's accomplishments this year include a sculpture award at the International Exhibition of the International Platform Association, Washington, D.C., in which she has exhibited for many years. An outdoor abstract flame sculpture was dedicated at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston this spring.

Mother and Child Tallowood

The polished bronze Mother and Child seen in our exhibition is one of three bronze castings from the original French alabaster commission, which is in the permanent collection of the Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, England. St. Cyril of Alexandria Church commissioned the original eight-foot-high bronze Theotokos, which is displayed outdoors in Houston, Texas. We display a bronze head, a mixed media paper casting and bronze Holy Child from that original.

Mother and Child Bronze on Walnut

WORKS DISPLAYED

Ascension, bronze, 26"x15"x 8"

Ascension, paper casting, 29"x18"x18"

Mother and Child, polished bronze, 22"x 22"x13"

Mother and Child, bronze, 23"x 18"x 9"

Mother and Child, paper casting, 28"x 28"x7"

El Nino, bronze, 10"x16"x9"

Prophet, bronze, 18"x11"x8"

Theotokos, paper casting and mixed media, 50"x 20"x14"

Theotokos Head, bronze, 19"x15"x12"

Theotokos-Holy Child, bronze, 19"x15"x12"

Theotokos, Sketch #1, bronze, 19"x 6"x4"

Theotokos, Sketch #2, bronze, 15"x 6"x9"

Visitation, pecan wood, 62"x 11"x11"

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