He has no mentors. There is nowhere to go to learn his art. No one teaches his technique. And yet in reviving a long-lost Classical style of relief sculpture, Bill Mack has created works which are so sought after that they hang in the White House, form part many of the world’s largest private art collections and grace the homes of superstars like Elton John and Sylvester Stallone.
Unquestionably the finest living relief sculptor, Bill Mack has revived the long-lost alto-relief methods used centuries ago in classical art and architecture and, over the past 30 years, has amassed a legion of fans across Europe, United States, South America and Japan with his compelling, emotive pieces.
His work is in the collections of former Presidents Clinton, Ford and Reagan; global rock legends Elton John, Celine Dion and Rod Stewart; HRH Prince Albert of Monaco; Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Elizabeth Taylor, and Tony Curtis and the former Prime Minster of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev among many others.
Bill Mack sculptures are also on public display in a number of US institutions including the Statue of Liberty National Monument on Liberty Island; the NBA Hall of Fame; the International Tennis Hall of Fame; the NFL Hall of Fame and the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
To create the extraordinary visual effects of his work, Bill Mack has developed sculptural techniques first used in Classical Greek and Roman times. Relief sculpture requires exceptional ability and visual acuity combine to create distortions in perspective necessary to allow the works to come out of the frame and into the room. By combining high & low relief incised surfaces and elements in full round, the viewer becomes involved, the art emerging into the world of the viewer.
“Mack’s art elicits an immediate emotional response,” notes one critic. “A moment in time is stopped, a familiar face revealed, the grace of a body in motion captured. The viewer becomes more than an observer; he becomes a participant in the drama unfolding before his eyes.”
Without a doubt, Bill Mack’s creations are strikingly unique in the world of art. Each work is crafted by hand and there is a strictly limited run for each piece. Once they are all sold their value grows significantly, often doubling in value almost overnight.
His work with the original Hollywood sign has taken his collection in a new direction, complimenting his relief sculptures and cementing his role as a chronicler of American icons.
In or out of his studio, Mack is an unusual man and artist, influencing today’s world of contemporary art. Youthful and enthusiastic, ambitious and stylish, the moustachioed Mack has a distinctive flair about him. He wears a fresh red rose bud on his lapel every day. Though he will not reveal the personal reason why he began the practice some years ago, the red rose has become his symbolic trademark. Presenting them at gallery openings, he has become the largest non-commercial buyer of roses in the world, requiring tens of thousands of them each year.
To find out more about Bill Mack’s extraordinary life and career please click here.
View a selection of Bill Mack’s work in the Home Page Gallery.
