The Theme：Eagles Cleaved the Sky

Artist：Kitty Cantrell， Mike Curtis

Date：2011.04.22-2011.05.15

Location：China World

Eagle has been a symbol of bravery and self-improvement in Chinese and western cultures. The image of eagle in Chinese culture can be traced back to the totem worship of primitive society. Eagle is the incarnation of god and is regarded as the divine bird, the celestial bird and the divine eagle. What kind of charm does this magical creature, “the overlord of the sky”, have? This exhibition will present its majestic posture and inherent spirit from the perspective of two western artists.

Mike Curtis was born in Los Angeles and grew up on the California coast and the rugged mountains of Colorado. As a young boy, he spent a lot of time exploring the surrounding environment, during which the artist developed a strong interest in wildlife in remote areas. In 1971, the bald eagle sculpture created by mike was highly recognized by the industry, and has since been hailed as the most important sculpture artist in the field of the magic creature. In order to carve out the most perfect details, mike often waits around the water where the bald eagle hunts to observe closely its manner and behavior patterns, including mating patterns and nesting habits, and timely records them vividly through painting. The majesty of mike’s eagle are unparalleled, which has won him the favor of many museums, government agencies and even the President of the United States. It is worth mentioning that in 1989, mike was selected by the White House to create a sculpture, which was finally presented to China in the name of President George w. bush. The sculptures created by mike are vivid and full of strong symbolic significance, and can even reflect the glory of a country and an era.

Kitty Cantrell was born in California and specializes in creating sculptures of wildlife that humans know very little about, such as wolves, eagles and whales. Kitty pays attention to details and adopts a variety of materials in the same sculpture, which enables her sculpture to grasp the unique expressions of animals and show the primitive and savage spirit in the animal world. She often spends a lot of time studying the details of animals, such as the shape of the tail, the size of the wings and so on. With the unique delicacy of female artists, Kitty presents all the behaviors and actions of this animal in every animal sculpture. Kitty usually makes a rough soft clay sculpture to establish the structure and shape, then carves it carefully according to the normal anatomy, and then sends it to a foundry in Los Angeles to be made with resin. As a wildlife advocate, Katie donated part of her income from art creation to the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Eagle Conservation Society.