Artist Statement
I was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I grew up at a time when the city was alive with energy and excitement. My childhood idol, Sonora Carver, was the woman who rode the diving horse at Atlantic City’s famed Steel Pier. They were surely my inspiration for the countless drawings of the Steel Pier and diving horses I did as a little girl.
Although I received a formal art education in high school, it wasn’t until I reached my early thirties that I was able to pursue a career as an artist. My professional career began with equine art. My husband and I had a small racing stable based at Hialeah Park in Florida. Visiting this most beautiful of American race tracks in the early morning hours to watch the horses as they galloped around the track fueled my desire to create a series of bronzes celebrating the spirit and athleticism of these magnificent animals. My bronzes depicting the thoroughbred in action were very well-received by the racing community and general public alike. I’m proud to say that for a time in the nineteen- eighties, I was addressed by the racing press as the “Remington of the Racetrack.”
Always on the lookout for new subjects to express my art, I began creating bronze sculptures with birds as the subject. Among my collection of birds are Bald Eagles, Great Blue Herons, Peacock’s, African Bee-Eaters, and Wood Ducks. Today many of the sculptures I created of these marvelous birds may be found on permanent display in a number of public and private collections around the world, from New York to Dubai.
My latest work involves an exploration of the abstract form in bas-relief sculpture. It is a major departure from my earlier, more figurative work but one that I find endlessly fascinating and challenging.
I am honored that my latest work in cast paper is being favorably received by my peers, collectors and the press. I’m very proud to announce that one of my first cast-paper sculptures a loving, tongue-in-cheek tribute to Jackson Pollock “Jack the Dripper” won the 21st Annual A Britain Banghart Award at the Academy Art Museum in Easton,. Maryland
Pam Foss, Sculptor
I am a native of Atlantic City, New Jersey. I have been drawn to the arts for as long as I can remember. I graduated from Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey in the early nineteen sixties, married my husband Bob and moved to Florida where we raised our three children. By apprenticing with other fine artists and continuously practicing my craft as time permitted, I was able to create a body of work in a variety of media that appealed to collectors and allowed me to pursue a career as a fine artist.
Although sculpture in its many forms is my favorite medium, I also enjoy creating other work in such diverse media as painting murals, illustrating, computer graphics, set design, pen and ink drawings, and creating pop-up cards and books.
The inspiration for my work comes from life itself. A fascinating well-traveled life that has led us on many an interesting journey and provided me with an endless series of intriguing subjects for my work.
Public Sculpture
The Monroe Building, Washington DC (A bronze relief of Pres. James Monroe and his family on Inauguration day, 20 by 6 feet). Commissioned by the Farr Companies
Riverchase Galleria, Birmingham, AL (A pair of Great Blue Herons, 10 feet high)
Quite Waters Park, Annapolis, MD (Great Blue Herons, 13 feet high)
Westland Mall, Knoxville, TN (Ten Mallards spiraling down for a landing (20 feet high)
East Chase Mall, Montgomery, AL (Life-size figure of Atlas holding a five foot sphere)
Calvert School, Baltimore, MD (A five foot Continental Globe, hanging from the ceiling)
Corporate Sculpture Collections
Key Corp, Albany NY
Louis Dreyfus Property Group, Washington DC
Hialeah Park, Miami FL
Jim Wilson Associates, Montgomery AL
New York Racing Association, Jamaica NY
Mellon Bank, Pittsburgh PA
New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. Elmont, NY
Harbert International, Birmingham AL
Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, Youngstown OH
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co, NY, NY
Crown Controls Corporation, New Bremen OH
CLP, McDonalds Corporation, Gadsden AL
Northwestern Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee WI
Limited Edition Bronze Sculptures
Point to Point (steeplechase race)
Suburban Handicap (Forego, Lord Rebeau, and Foolish Pleasure in a photo finish)
Inquiry (Genuine Risk and Codex in the highly controversial 1980 Preakness)
The Starting Gate (Three Horses breaking out of the starting gate)
The Rain Dancer (A horse racing on a muddy track)
Flying Filly (A classic racing filly)
Fly Fishing (An American Bald Eagle pulling a fish out of water)
Angle of Attack (An American Bald Eagle in full flight – life-size)
Blue Rapture (A pair of heron heads)
Blue Elegance (Life-size heron taking off, 7 foot wing-span)
Blinkers On (A bust of a racehorse wearing blinkers)
The Jewel in the Crown (A Peacock standing on a pedestal)
Life-Cycle (An African bird catching a dragon-fly)
Summer Breeze (A bust of a horse with his mane blowing in the wind) Rhapsody in Blue (A pair of herons in courtship)
Newspaper Reviews & Articles
New York Times
Albany Times Union
Washington Post
Schenectady Gazette
Naples Daily News
Toronto Star
Hunterdon Democrat
Princeton Packet
Bucks County Herald
Miami Herald
Magazine Reviews & Articles
Southwest Art
Departures
Thoroughbred Record
Spur
Horseman’s Journal
Blood Horse
Home Companion
Hunterdon Life
Prime
Television
Wide World of Sports (ABC)
Down the Stretch (ESPN)
P.M. Magazine (cable Network)
News at Six (Philadelphia station)
The Phil Donahue Show (Women in the Arts)
The Ellen Degeneres Show
Group Shows
Academy Art Museum, Easton MD 2008 (winner A. Brittain Banghart Award)
Talbot County Visual Arts Center 2007(Honorable Mention Hide N Seek)
John T Mather Memorial Hospital Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition
The Salmagundi Show, NY (1988 Third place, Angle of Attack)
International Art Expo, New York, Los Angeles & Dallas
Warner Communications at Rockefeller Center, NY
The Philadelphia Art Show
Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club
Pace University Art Show, NY
Tuft’s University Equine Art Show, MA
American Academy of Equine Art
Jewish Women’s Art League (Long Island NY) Art Show
Talbot County Visual Art Center
Chestertown Art League
Art Works, Chestertown
Galleries
8 Ongoing
Luna Gallery, Colorado Springs, CO
Frank Miele Gallery, New York NY
Timmelman Collection, Saugatuck, MI
Hardcastle Gallery, Centerville DE
The Eclectic Collector, Katonah NY
8 Previous
Midtown Galleries, New York, NY
Park Shore Gallery, Naples FL
Merriam Fisher Gallery, Washington DC
Middleton Gallery, Annapolis, MD
King Gallery, New York, NY
The Sportsman’s Edge NY
Dayspring Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY
Hobe Sound Gallery, Jupiter FL
Meisner Gallery, New York
Howard Gallery, New Hope, PA
Beresford Gallery, Unionville, PA
Solo Shows
Hoffberger Gallery, Baltimore, MD November, 2009
Willow Gallery at Quiet Waters Park, Annapolis, MD (August-September 2011)
Murals & Freelance Work
Nickelodeon Cable Network Trade Show: Sculpted life-size figures of:
The “Rug Rats”
Cat Dog
MTV Cable Network Trade Show: Sculpted life size figures:
The South Park Kids
Trade Show Booths: Painted numerous back-drops.
History Channel: Painted murals for Trade Show.
Sesame Street Store “Excite” (Painted murals for backdrops)
The White House: Created backdrops for two inaugurations and press conferences. Sculpted figures and theme props for inauguration parade floats.
ABC News, Peter Jennings “The Israeli Crisis:” Sculpted three dimensional map
Large Political Mural 4 ½ feet by 6 feet, title “A Load of Bull”
Paper Castings
I have long been drawn to the ancient Chinese art of cast paper and decided to move forward with the creation of a new series of bas-relief sculpture that I have specifically designed to be hand cast in a high grade of elegant cotton paper pulp. The first two pieces in the series are complete and have been well-received by both the general public and my peers. I am thrilled that my very first cast paper sculpture, which depicts a pair of coursing greyhounds, has been selected as an entry for the 111th Open Annual Exhibition of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club at the National Arts Club in New York. And that another of my first works in cast paper, a tribute to Jackson Pollock, won best sculpture award at the Academy Art Museum’s Member Show in 2008.
The Acclaim
Critiques on the Sculptures
“Her works are truly representative of the actual model – her works catch the excitement of each model in every form,” Jim Wilson, developer of Riverchase Galleria. He decided to place her sculpture “The Great Blues” in the Galleria so every one might enjoy the splendid beauty of this work.
“I was struck by the sculptures vivid portrayal of beauty and savagery in the same instant,” said Brigadier General Peter J. Boylan, former Commandant of Cadets, U.S. Military Academy, West Point. “It seems to capture much of life as we see it.” The acclaim was made upon viewing the sculpture “Angle of Attack”, the American Bald Eagle.
Taking a tour of the KeyCorp collection with the CEO in gray pinstripes reveals a side of (Victor) Riley the public doesn’t see. Amid his beloved art collection, he is a kid in a candy store. He stops at a stunning life size bronze sculpture of an eagle swooping in for a kill. The artist is Pam Foss from New York; its title is “Angle of Attack” Riley ignores the discreet “do not touch” sign and lovingly strokes the bird’s perfectly rendered chest feathers. “She has really captures these feathers”, Riley says, “Just feel that. What detail. It’s the type of sculpture I can sit and stare at all day.”
Paul Grondahl Albany Times Union January 1989
“The real surprise at Dayspring Gallery is the bronze sculptures of local artist Pam Foss. Done as limited editions of 15-20 each, the bronzes were cast by the lost wax method at a Long Island foundry and mark Foss as a sculptor to be reckoned with-now and in the future.”
Peg Churchill Wright Schenectady Gazette August 26 1982
“Pam Foss is one of America’s leading equine sculptors. Her Bronzes are greeted with enthusiasm wherever they are exhibited and it is a compliment to her enormous talent that they are eagerly sought after by collectors.”
Sean Byrne, Racing journalist Thoroughbred Record
Pam Foss’s impressive “Great Blue Heron” an animated interpretation of the birds on the cusp of flight far outstrips the rest of the field of figurative sculptures in this years show.
Staff writer The New York Times August 8, 1993
“Pam Foss’s animal images in bronze are gracefully executed and finished with strikingly colorful patinas,”
Naples Daily News, December 1, 1989
“Annapolitans own several pieces of public sculpture. A recent edition to our collection has been installed at Quiet Waters Park. Sculpted by local artist Pam Foss, the life size bronze of two impressive herons is well-suited to its new home.
Situated next to the visitor’s center high on a bluff, the sculpture is not fully revealed until one climbs the staircase from the road. Perched on a tree branch, the herons stretch in an “S” shaped composition, producing a sense of imminent movement, the piece thus interacts with the viewer from all angles.
Precise realism delineates the sculpture and its harmony with the Victorian garden space. Ms Foss has produced a variety of textures and colors in the piece, making it as interesting to explore the piece close up as it is from afar. The park is a breathtakingly beautiful place and the herons are worthy guardians.”
New in Town by Carol Falk the Capital, December 15 1990
Contact Information:
Pam Foss
12896 Shallcross Wharf Rd.
Kennedyville, MD 21645
Web: www.pamfosssculpture.com
