Goran K. King
Artistic Upbringing
Born in New England in 1942, sculptor Goran K. King received his first
pocket knife at the age of 7 and has been carving ever since. As a
child, Goran was fascinated with facial expressions, redrawing faces he
found in magazines and changing their expressions to sad, happy, and
angry. By the time he was 9, he was carving the wooden totem poles he
saw in his western comic books, which led to his love of
three-dimensional art. He stopped seeing old corroded statues around
town, and began seeing them as sculptures.
His first visit to the Boston Museum of Fine Art at 12 years of age was a major turning point in his life; he was awestruck by a display of Rodin’s work. The passion and raw emotion depicted was far superior to the stoic, almost mannequin-like, work of the other sculptors on display in the museum.
In
1973 Goran chose to put his passion aside to work two jobs in order to
support his growing family. It wasn’t until 1997, when he married his
current wife Hortensia, that he was inspired to once again pursue his
passion of art. Together, they took stained glass classes and formed a
business designing and creating natural stone medallions for floors and
walls.
Last year, Goran decided to revisit sculpture, an art form he hadn’t touched since 1973, starting with the wax bust of “Sitting Bull” (seen below). Sculpture served to keep his creative juices flowing, and he has been studying methods, materials, and techniques steadily for the past six months.
Goran says, “My work is conceived and
inspired by life itself, hence the lean towards figurative realism. I
seldom sketch, draw, or take pictures; instead I study and get to know
and perhaps capture the emotions of my subject long enough to
reincarnate his essence.”
Process
While
creating his sculptures, Goran experiments with a myriad of materials,
including clay, resin, wax, wood, and stone. About his process, Goran
muses: “Sometimes I can look at a lump of clay and see the end result,
other times it’s like opening a present, I just start removing the
packaging—whether clay, wood, stone, or wax—and am surprised at what is
inside. Wow, what a rush! I have actually awakened from a sound sleep so
excited about an idea that I had to begin it, just to watch it evolve
and change into something totally different…and awesome."
His sculpture “Sitting Bull”
(pictured right) began when he read an article online about the
historical figure that didn’t match the stories he’d remembered reading
in text books. 
Intrigued, Goran dug into the history of Sitting Bull
from the Native American perspective. After doing his research, he held
the block of wax for a long time knowing that Sitting Bull was in
there, wanting out, and eighteen hours later, out he came.
Goran sculpted “Ghost Writer” (pictured left) using polymer resin in his "casting-the-void" method, where the void is the sculpture.
He discovered this process as an alternative to the very expensive
bronze casting process and applied it to his work at Mount San Antonio
College’s Fine Art program in 1973. The addition of light gives it a
crystalline affect.
The casting-the-void resin sculptures are unique to Goran; as far as he's aware, he's the only sculptor using this method.
More examples of Goran's "casting-the-void" method are seen in the sculptures below: "Grandpa's Little Dude" (left) and "Emergence from Chaos" (right):
Shows & Accolades
Goran shows his work consistently throughout the Sacramento region, including shows at the prestigious Blue Moon Gallery, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, and, most recently, at the Colonial Heights Branch of the Sacramento Public Library.
Goran will be submitting three pieces in this year's 2011 Bold Expressions 56th Annual International Open Juried Art Exhibition in September with “Emergence From Chaos” (above right), “The Garden” (below right), and “Ripped” (first image in article).
He has also submitted two pieces--"Grandpa's Little Dude" (above) and "Eve" (in video above)--to the Valley Sculpture Artists 14th Annual Membership Show this September at Gallery 2110.
In 2007, Goran and Hortensia, also an
artist, won entry into the coveted California State Fair’s Fine Art
Competition, taking home three awards for their natural stone
medallions, a few of which can be
seen in the Stone Gallery.
“Ghost Writer” was accepted and displayed at the 2010 Bold Expressions 55th International Juried Art Exhibit, in Sacramento, CA. From 283 entries from around the world, only 29 art pieces received an award and King’s “Ghost Writer” was among them.
In addition to his sculptures, Goran has found success as a writer. After telling stories of his youth to his children and wife, Hortensia finally persuaded him to write a book, No Time To Duck, which was met with much praise--read the rave reviews from readers and fellow authors here. The book is also available for purchase on Amazon.
Currently
Today, Goran continues to follow his artistic pursuits, submitting his
work to as many shows and competitions as possible. When he's not doing
that, he's training his apprentice, three-year-old grandson Aidan, in
the sculptural process. With every new sculpture Goran creates, he
leaves Aidan’s mark--it takes about three-times as long, but Grandpa and
his apprentice enjoy every second if it!
Keep in touch
Website
YouTube
Facebook: Latest Work
Facebook: Figurative Art World
Sac365 Artist Profile
