The Artist

The Artist. Gary Lee Price. , Artist's Statement , Alaska and everything this beautiful state represents has always held not only awe but tenderness in my heart; awe for the land and its peoples - tenderness for the family and dear friend relationships nurtured here. Combine that with loving and trying to depict in clay and bronze the aspect of physically reaching out and climbing to higher heights. When it was announced that I was chosen for the Walter Harper commission, I was ecstatic!, My approach was to create an interactive sculpture of this legendary and indefatigable man, Walter Harper, combined with the awe of DENALI, and depicting one of the admiring helpers, Snowball, that got the team there. I hope I've succeeded - I hope you love the Walter Harper Monument!, "I hope I can assist the world in visualizing a place where fences and boundaries, both real and imagined, are nonexistent. A place where bias and prejudice are long forgotten. And finally a place where acts of kindness, mutual respect and love are everyday happenings." , -Gary Lee Price, Sculptor, Gary, a 1981 Fine Arts graduate of the University of Utah, believes in "perpetual student-hood." He finds travel and research an important part of his life. he has lived abroad in locations like Germany, Israel, Mexico, and Guatemala, and has conducted research in 11 European countries and Egypt. In 1991, Gary was elected a member of the National Sculpture Society, and was recently elected by his peers as a Fellow. His works are displayed with a select group of 15 United States galleries and included in public and private collections throughout the world., Artist Selection Process , A rigorous and public process was implemented to select an artist for the Walter Harper Project. A Request for Qualifications / Call for Artists was designed to solicit national interest in the project while highlighting a preference for Alaska Native artists. From nine applications, three finalists were asked to submit conceptual renderings and a statement about their proposed sculpture. The selection committee, made up of local artists and museum professionals, recommended an artist to the Walter Harper Project team who, having also reviewed and discussed the proposals, selected the artist.