Rik Sargent left the university environment in 1972 to move home to Colorado and study with the local masters that were creating the realistic art known as western art. Here the opportunity to study anatomy and form in foundries and private studios gave Rik the academic background no university of the 70′s could offer. During this period of study, Rik owned a successful landscaping company. This relationship between his interest in the design of open space and the design of sculpture formed a unique talent for creating sculpture that relates to it’s environment. Great sculpture can be attractive anywhere, but placed in the correct environment it becomes complete. Successful public art must combine these two elements equally; first a graceful sculptural form and second, a reason and harmony to the environment in which it is placed.Success in the next decade led to freedom and the opportunity to explore alternative images and materials. Plastics, papers, and cement and glass are now combined to create the work Rik is most committed to. His career is divided between public monuments and public park design, balanced by experimental works for galleries and collectors. |
“I am a representational sculptor who has awoken from the dream of common reality. Myth and metaphor, poetry and above all, good story telling inspire me in my art. I enjoy telling stories with a commitment to sentence structure, built of form and architecture, and the plot, cast in bronze, that invites participation from the observer. We live in the most wonderful and potential of times. As the family of man grows closer and the planet is seen as one, we artists get to invent the new fables and icons.” |