The Spori Art Gallery’s latest exhibit, “Impressions in Clay” features the sculptures of New Zealand native LeRoy Transfield who is also of Māori descent.
Transfield grew up in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. He graduated from BYU-Hawaii in 1993 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He had worked with clay as a teenager but knew he wanted to spend his life as a sculptor the moment he walked into the studio on campus in Laie.
“When I walked in the door, there was all these student work and works of the professor. … and then he gave me a tour and showed me his work, and I was like, ‘Wow, I want to do this.’”
He remembers working with clay as a kid. His mother helped him develop his skills when she asked him to create figurines of the characters in the Book of Mormon for her early morning seminary class.
Impressions in Clay Exhibit
Now, as a full-time sculptor in Utah, he creates a variety of sculptures, some of which you’ll find in the exhibit.
The first piece you see as you walk into the gallery is “Ribbon Dancer.” It stands about four feet tall and features a dancer suspended by a ribbon. It’s cast in stainless steel so it’s strong enough to remain suspended. The dancer is on one foot with ribbons arcing around her.
“I wanted to have that elevated feeling. I think the height helps to give it more presence rather than just a tabletop thing,” Transfield said. “And then you don’t have to have it very high before you start getting that lightness and the airy feeling of the ribbons and the dancing.”
Among the pieces in the exhibit are two sculptures of Prometheus, the Titan in Greek mythology punished by Zeus for loving mankind and stealing fire from the gods to give to men. The sculptures flank the exhibit on the east and west sides.
You’ll also see figures like “Bad Splinter” which shows a child dressed in traditional Mongolian attire looking at their finger, which apparently has a splinter in it. His daughter posed for the sculpture.
He often has people pose for his work. “Fishmonger’s Wife” shows a woman with her hand on her hip and looking over her shoulder. He liked the pose because it reminded him of his wife, both in attitude and the reminiscent pose.
“But if you look at her, you know, she’s just as much in charge as he is. And so, she has become part of his business,” Transfield said.
Transfield’s wife, Kelly, also helps with his business. She will meet potential clients with him and loves to give tours of his studio while he’s working.
“She has just as much passion and wants to share about my sculpture too,” he said.
His religious-themed sculptures include “Woman at the Well,” “Moses,” “Ascension of the Beggar” and a group of reliefs from the Nativity story. The reliefs are about 18 inches tall and cast in bronze with a silver patina on them. They have a gold-leafed tabernacle frame around them. He originally made simpler versions in Hydrostone to sell during Christmas time to help pay for his own family’s Christmas.
“When I look at these I think about that Christmas and different things that were going on,” Transfield said.
A typical sculpture can take one to six months to make from the actual sculpting to casting the piece. But how does he know when the piece is finished?
“Oh, when it starts to sing,” Transfield said. “If it starts to sing, then it will work.”
Transfield said he occasionally takes time to contemplate his work. He’ll have a quiet moment and feel glad he made the sculpture.
He can also be critical of his work. He likes to fine-tune some pieces, even going so far as to cut the head off of one piece that was already bronzed. He resculpted the head and welded it onto the body.
As viewers see his work in the exhibit, Transfield hopes they leave with an appreciation of sculpture.
“Maybe they’ll think about it, want to come back and look at it because it makes them feel better or happy with their lives,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be like a lightning bolt or anything like that, but just something that makes them feel better about life in general.”
You can see “Impressions in Clay” through July 25 for free at the Spori Art Gallery at BYU-Idaho. You can see more of Transfield’s work on his website, leroytransfield.com.