Sculpting engages my creative spirit, setting me free to imagine, invent, and give shape to my visions; and like sculptors since time immemorial, to seek beauty within the contours of the human figure. By temperament I'm drawn to tranquil imagery. I find structural clarity and decisive form are more important to me than imitation, narrative, or detail, and I judge the success of my work by the quality of its form and by the appeal of the light patterns that envelop it. Ridding my sculpture of what is not essential, I look for beauty in the essence of the form and seek a sense of timelessness in formal perfection.

Biography:

Roderick Morgan is a Canadian Figurative Sculptor and art educator. Working primarily in clay and bronze, his sculptures often contrast the organic forms of the female figure with sharply defined geometric structures. Exhibited and collected internationally, his work has garnered eminent acclaim, most notably the gold medal and Charlotte Geffken prize at the 85th annual awards exhibition of the National Sculpture Society (New York) in 2018.

Morgan, a graduate of the Alberta College of Art and the University of Calgary, discovered his affinity for sculpture during a career as a high school art teacher. Furthering his ambition to create images from imagination, rather than relying on models or using photography, he extended his art education, studying artistic anatomy with Robert Beverly Hale at the Art Students League in New York. In addition to sculpting and teaching he has worked as a scientific illustrator; many of his drawings are published in paleontology journals and textbooks.

Rod Morgan has two children, a son who is a computer animator in the film industry, and a daughter who is a medical sculptor.

Method:

Using traditional hand tools and simple workshop techniques, I shape my sculptures using modelling clay. As each nears completion it is cast in plaster, a medium which allows for more exacting refinement of surfaces and sharpening of edges. The finished plaster sculptures are then cast in bronze using the lost wax method. Working in my studio in Calgary, Canada, I produce a limited number of sculptures in small editions.