Lawrence "Beau" Bilenki
Beau working on "Arrow Up" January, 2010. He is applying concrete over galvanized steel lath which is secured to a rebar frame. |
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Beau Bilenki, originally from London, Ontario, studied sculpture with Tuck Langland at Indiana University. |
His work has been exhibited at South Bend Museum of Art, South Bend Regional Airport, Indiana University Gallery, Saugatuck and Marshall Michigan, Wisconsin, New York and Chicago at the Vance Galleries on Michigan Avenue. |
| "I strive for classical form with contemporary interpretation. Whatever medium I work in, I create each work to be balanced either, in symmetry or asymmetry. I have been compelled to achieve a quiet beauty." |  |
Beau has studied pottery with Paul Soldner (the American father of Raku and inventor of the Soldner Wheel) well known potter, Dick Lehman, and Aldelphia Martinez (New Mexican potter Maria Martinez’s granddaughter). |
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Fruit Bowls and Platters $ 50 each |
| "I like to get materials and tools together. I work toward an idea by will (from within) then logic for expression. I attempt to bring work into a final space or environment. Art from found objects is arranged into art with context. I use traditional knowledge for modern translation. In each, I like spontaneous, semi-refined, unpremeditated discovery, so the work is not just technique, but holds feelings of expression." |
Firing raku ceramic artwork absorbing carbon Beau has been teaching a class in raku several times a year. |
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Raku Vases 16" - 18" high |
"A new direction of cement on steel gives me the challenge of sculpting the surface with color and texture. My form now is simple and basic. I see more involved, complicated volumes emerging in my drawings. In my search for artistic fulfillment, I study history and antiquity. My current work consists of welded steel rebar geometric forms covered with a galvanized steel lath covered with concrete." |
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Gustometer 12 feet high rebar, cement & mirrors (in front of Fire Arts) $ 5,000.00 |
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"With this concept, I can be a sculptor in the mechanics of welding the frames and a painter in the application of the surface." |
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"Tree Relief" 4x6 feet rebar $ 350.00 |
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Torso 20 &1/2" high Bronze |
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He was the first sculptor in the 50 year history of the Northern Indiana Artist to win awards in sculpture. Beau is also a volunteer staff member of the South Bend Museum of Art. |
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One man show at Fire Arts Feburary 2008 |
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| Black Amphora 23 &1/2" high | White Amphora 24" high |
“An artist is one who can tolerate a great amount of disorder” Lawrence Bilenki 1967
| Beau is one of our founding artists. Fire Arts continues to be gratefull for his investments of courage, time, ideas, money, and energy. |