Congratulations to Greg Woodard for winning the Barron Collier III Award for Best 3-Dimensional Artwork at the 2018 Buffalo Bill Center for the West auction. The award winning piece, "Cornered" was released this year and is available as an edition of 21.
Greg Woodard channels his profound connection with powerful animals into sculptures at once rugged and refined. Working closely with the foundry, he applies every patina by hand, a meticulousness that makes each addition unique in color and texture. Ever open to experimentation and innovation, he lets the material journey of his process translate into brave finished forms. “I try to achieve a unique gesture in every piece,” he says.
Woodard believes each sculpture tells a story of close communion between humans and animals. A different aspect related to inter-dynamics, he also explores the cultural impact of opening the West, as symbolized by the railroad track.
Born in 1958 in Prescott, Arizona, Woodard’s formal training is limited to high-school art classes. Thus largely self-taught, he began by carving decoys, and went on to become the only artist to win both decorative and interpretive categories in international carving competitions: he is the five-time Best of Show winner at the Ward World Competition and the 1992 World Class winner. In 2000, he captured the world category in interpretive sculpture with his rendition of a prairie falcon chasing several swallows. Other accolades include his inclusion in the collections of the Museum of the West and the Booth Western Art Museum; and a feature article in the January/February 2018 issue of Art of the West magazine. Most recently, he won the Barron Collier III Award for best 3- Dimensional Artwork at the 2018 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale.