Joseph Wheelwright
born 1948, New York, NY
works in Boston, MA.
Listening Stone, 1995, granite, 40" x 44" x 60", DeCordova Permanent Collection 1995.27, Museum Purchase with partial funding provided by Betty Jane and Stephen Andrus, Site-specific installation
Joseph Wheelwright is a master carver who works in stone, wood, and bone to create fantastic figures and creatures. These mysterious presences exist in a range of scales from the tiny to the monumental, and often reference the natural world through the artist's choice of materials and particular anatomical distortions. Listening Stone was created especially for the DeCordova Sculpture Park. Wheelwright chose a giant boulder from a recent excavation on the grounds, and transformed it into a disembodied abstracted head at his studio. After completing the work, the sculpture was positioned so as relate in site, size, and materials to nearby rock outcroppings. In this way, Listening Stone seems to have emerged spontaneously from the ground, suggesting a mythic being or nature spirit in communion with the earth.
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Joseph Wheelwright
born 1948, New York, NY
works in Boston, MA.
Pretty Stone Face, 2000, granite with black basaltic intrusions, 36 x 36 x 36", Gift of Deborah Anne Stone in memory of Sybil and Stephan Stone.
Pretty Face was created at a time when Wheelwright began to carve large faces that seemingly spring to life as they emerge out of the rock, much like the adjacent Listening Stone, 1995. In contrast to the earlier and larger sculpture, Pretty Face is a petite example of his attempt to fashion a realistic portrait. The black basaltic spots that freckle the stone inspired Wheelwright to let the granite evolve into a sweet, feminine face. This female head was the first of many others that served as a physiognomic study of sorts for his sculptures to come.
