Denver sculptor Robert Mangold considers himself to be a “realist,” but his definition of the term is fairly idiosyncratic considering his abstract and non-objective works. For Mangold, who avoids even a whiff of representational imagery in his pieces, being a “realist” means that he’s interested in physical reality—in real gravity, in real movement, and in occupying real space—according to him, nothing is more “realist” than that. Employing this personal interpretation of realism for nearly 60 years, he has set his own high standard of art, craft, and vision. As early as a generation ago, Mangold came to be regarded as the premier contemporary sculptor in Colorado. In the second half of the 20th century, he emerged as the state’s unofficial dean of the three-dimensional medium, the same status that he enjoys today. Mangold was the subject of a major retrospective at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities earlier this year. …see the entire article in the print version of December’s Sculpture magazine.
