Known for his contemporary work in stone and metal, Christopher Curtis has been creating sculpture for more than fifty years.
Christopher Curtis's affection for stone started as a young boy collecting rocks in the woods of Vermont. Over the decades, his fascination expanded from pebbles to cobbles to large boulders. Curtis claims to have looked at literally millions of stones, collected multiple thousands, and discarded nearly as many, which has honed his discerning focus on shape as well as material.
As an avid rock climber in his youth, Curtis developed a highly tactile understanding of stone as a medium. That passion, coupled with his ongoing interest in geology and astronomy, fueled his close observation of the natural world and stars, both of which inform his art.
Curtis attributes much of his artistic approach to his mentor, Professor Paul Aschenbach, during his formal art training at the University of Vermont in the 1970s. Aschenbach insisted his students become proficient in a wide variety of media and promoted the use of stone, a plentiful Vermont resource.
Collections
Works by Christopher Curtis are in private collections throughout New England and the United States. Among his sculptures on public view are works at the Tulsa Botanic Gardens, Tulsa, OK; the Appleton Museum, Ocala, FL; Lemon Fair Sculpture Park, Shoreham, VT; United States Federal Reserve Bank, Washington, DC; University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR; and State of Vermont Public Art Collection, Montpelier, VT, and the U.S. Embassy, Copenhagen, Denmark.