The Louvre Calling
Sculptor and entrepreneur Scott Kling and wife Cynthia are headed to Paris this December. Two of Scott’s sculptures are in an exhibit at the Carrousel du Louvre sponsored by the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts, scheduled to run from December 12 to the 15. And there’s a luncheon in his honor at the U.S. Embassy.
A curator from the Louvre had seen Scott’s work at dorothy’s gallery in Paris and called to invite him to submit six photos of his work for consideration in a juried show made up of ten international up-and-coming artists. Scott, the only sculptor in the group, will include The Pod, a 16 x 4 inch Indiana limestone carving, and Standing Torso, a 24-inch tall bronze. Both, representations of the figure, are part of a fifteen piece series called Human Landscapes.
It all started with a family trip to Morocco in 2011 to celebrate the 80th birthday of Scott’s father. Scott decided to stop in Paris on the way home to see if he could find a gallery to represent his work. “It has been a lifelong dream of mine to exhibit my work in a Paris gallery,” he comments. After going door-to-door he came upon dorothy’s gallery, American Center for the Arts, at 27 Rue Keller, started by American Dorothy Pollis in 2006. The owner agreed to include five of his bronze maquettes (small-scale models) in an upcoming group show, then continued to show Scott’s work. A solo exhibition is planned for 2014.
The human form inspires Scott’s work with dancer and yoga instructor Cynthia his model and muse. His organic creations are in stone, wood and bronze but he is open to new things, currently working on a three dimensional mosaic piece using stone chips from a recent commission.
A man of many talents, Scott received a Watson Fellowship to study climate change after graduating from Connecticut College with a major in environmental sciences in 1981. As a senior he designed and built a wind generator to power the school’s radio station. Every semester, he managed to fit in art classes. After spending a year in Africa, Italy and the Middle East he came to New York City following in his father’s footsteps with a job in the toy industry and figurative and abstract sculpture classes at Parsons.
Cynthia came into his life in 1985 when he co-produced Cunningham Studio, a modern dance company. She was performing with a visiting dance group. The two married and moved to Bedford, New York when Cynthia was pregnant with daughter Julia. Lucie was born there as well. They converted a barn on the property into sculpture and dance studios. Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea, was a frequent vacation destination. There was a stone quarry and Scott sculpted.
Seattle was the next stop where Scott, one of seventy original Amazon employees, developed its toy, baby and video division. Cincinnati followed when he was recruited by U.S. Playing Card Company. A neighbor a few houses down who was an instructor at the Art Academy ran a sculpture class. “It was wonderful; I learned sculpting and art history. Brancusi and others inform and inspire my work,” Scott says.
“I decided sculpting needed to be a bigger part of my life when I turned fifty,” he comments. Scott is now a free-lance consultant for products related to solar and toys, helps develop new products and assists European clients who are looking for a U.S. presence. For his 50th birthday Cynthia gave her husband a month in Italy studying at Studio Sem in Pietrasanta, on the coast of northern Tuscany. Scott recalls, “I studied under artists commissioned by the Vatican and used the same tools as Michelangelo. It was an amazing summer; I was living my dream of being a full time artist.”
A lunch in Piermont seven years ago brought the couple to look at places to rent in Palisades. They took a place on Highland Avenue, then three years ago moved a short distance to a house adjoining Grace Knowlton’s property. Scott had attended Grace’s class at the Art Student’s League in the city. He relates, “We love it here; Grace has brought together numerous artists on her property and has created a strong sense of community.”
With a basement full of wood and a studio full of stone brought back from an Italian stone quarry, Scott will be kept busy creating his beautiful lyrical forms. He is represented at Ober Gallery in Kent, Connecticut and in Piermont at Piermont Straus, 530 Piermont Avenue.