Nature and its principles of growth are key aspects of Howard Kalish’s work. Rather than copying a single object in nature, Kalish looks to forms of growth and structure in the natural world. This observation of the natural world encourages him to pursue sculptural forms that evolve slowly and organically. As the artist himself has stated, “Just as in nature, by far the most important factor is the overriding growth principle (the DNA, if you will). This is how the work is conceived, in every sense of the word. An idea or seed is born and I try to let it realize itself in the form of the three-dimensional object by nurturing and not violating its essence. In the best circumstances the thing that is created has an existence of its own, independent of me.”
Pursuing studies in art and sculpture, Kalish attended The Cooper Union and the New York Studio School and he currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to exhibiting his sculpture, Kalish has taught at several institutions, including fifteen years at the National Academy of Design.
