Wood sculptures on exhibit at Bliss

If you have a few moments to spare while you are in Belize City, you may want to wander over to the Belisle Art Gallery at the Bliss Institute. The works of wood sculptor Alfonso Galvez are sure to capture your imagination, the way the wood he uses captures his.

Alfonso Galvez is a farmer who collects junkwood not for the firehearth but as a form of art. Galvez, who sculpts as a hobby, says while some people may consider the discarded pieces of wood ugly and uninteresting, it is what can be made from them that he finds so appealing.

Alfonso Galvez, Sculptor

“When I search for the piece of wood, I try to locate the piece of wood which best suits my plan because most of my plans are pre-planned on paper and then they are executed. Of course modifications are made while working the wood because the wood has a character of its own that I must work with. I can’t work against the character of wood.”

The finished product is not smooth but it’s the very rawness that makes Galvez’s work interesting. Galvez says he does not follow the tradition of waxing sculptured pieces but rather he just seals and then oils the carving pieces before they are presented.

Although some of Galvez’s ideas may seem like strange topics for a carving, once they are carved in wood, they somehow make sense. Like the bike crash which happens to be one of the artist’s favorites.

Alfonso Galvez

“It is a solid piece of wood actually. Just imagine making a bike and it looks just like the ones, the real ones out of metal that is running about on the streets, would that be interesting? No, we have to change the concept and of course it would become interesting.”

There are fourteen pieces in the Creations Art Show underway at the Bliss Institute until October twenty-second.