Artist Statement

Sculpture has been my lifelong passion. I grew up in Newark, New Jersey, where my love for art began the day I opened a bag of clay as a teenager. Early on, I recognized the importance of a strong foundation in anatomy and drawing. I studied at the Art Students League in New York under Robert Beverly Hale and Michael Burban, mastering anatomy, proportion, and figure drawing.

 

While raising my family, I worked in the trades but never stopped sculpting. When my children were grown, I opened my first studio in Verona, NJ, and later established Franco Fine Art Studio in Winter Springs, Florida.

 

My work has been featured internationally and in publications like Sculptural Pursuit and Fine Art Connoisseur. Over the years, I’ve completed more than 30 commissions for Kessler Collections and exhibited in cities including Paris, Vienna, Singapore, and Tokyo.

 

One of my most meaningful works, “Double Helix – Mutation of Increased Compassion,” has been featured in university publications at Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, and was personally acknowledged by Nobel Laureate Dr. James Watson. My sculpture “Achilles” was published by the Royal College of Surgeons for its anatomical precision.

 

In 2019, I collaborated with Bösendorfer to create a one-of-a-kind bronze-based piano, exhibited internationally. More recently, I was honored with first and second place in a global competition to design memorials for the Boys of Dozier — with installations in Marianna and Tallahassee, Florida.

 

Above all, what matters most to me is the impact of my work on future generations. If even one sculpture can speak to everyone who sees it—transcending race, gender, and division—then my artistic life will have been well lived.

 

— Franco Castelluccio