Gail Folwell’s dynamic sculptures focus on the human figure, and her art graces spaces both indoors and out, in Colorado and beyond. Folwell’s monumental and gallery-scale works can be found at the Denver Art Museum, as well as in Vail, Colorado Springs, and Basalt. She’s now working on a large-scale commission for the National Western Stock Show complex. The artist makes her home in Carbondale and works in Basalt at Folwell Studios, accompanied by her two dogs.
Living the Colorado lifestyle: “I’ve skied all my life. I used to race mountain bikes. I hike. I like hills. I like going straight up.”
Her sporty sculptures: “I’m very interested in the flow state, the zone, source—the capability we all have to connect to a higher self. Sports were the first place I understood this. If you compete in anything, you can hit a place where you disappear into the moment. Everything slows down. When I started sculpting, the moment that happens was something I was interested in trying to capture.”
Picking mediums: “My process is fluid. I sketch all the time for a lot of different reasons. I might see a medium that inspires a piece. If I have a concept, the essence of what I’m trying to achieve might lead me. If it’s something transcendental, I might use glass that’s transparent and plays with light moving through the medium. If it’s a heavier concept or sports, which are intense, I’ll use metal.”
Put it on a pedestal: “I often custom-designed the pedestal for the site. I want the pedestal to integrate. I like my work precariously balanced, and I want the pedestal to enhance the site and the work, whether outdoors or in the house. Sometimes I use stone or concrete or rusty steel outdoors. Indoors, I’m putting pedestals under cast steel work because they’re heavy, and people might have kids or dogs running around. I want the work integrated and welded and bolted so it’s much safer. And then people don’t feel they have to tuck the work in a corner. I use mirrored stainless steel indoors to keep the pedestal light and airy and reflect the art.”
For all to see: “Public art is something that brings joy or resonates with people, gives them a reason to feel good or to question or keep looking at it. Art makes the scale of open space seem more intimate. Public art makes you want to be there and makes you want to revisit a place.”
The secret of sculpting success: “I’m an empath, and I’d rather people be moved by what they feel than what they see. I make art from the inside out, and it’s infused with an energy. A lot of artists look outward for inspiration. I have so much inside. I have archives in my soul I need to express.”
