About the Work:
Inspired by movement in nature, dance, and body language, I create free- standing sculptures meant to be viewed from all sides. I begin by drawing in space with my armature materials, and each line drawn is an emotional response to the previous one without a specific plan for the final result. I am an observer as the sculpture evolves. My main concern is that it works well in the round, so there is a continuum of expression anywhere I pause. Only after I’ve completed the sculpture am I able to articulate its meaning according to what was going on in or around my life at the time, so I title the works based on the movement of how the piece unfolds.
My medium-sized pieces take at least three months to create, with the majority of time spent building the armature. Once completed, the armature is very close to the final form. I coat and pack the armature with my concrete mix - a recipe given to me by an engineer involved in bridge building. It allows me to work fairly thin, keeping the weight down to 35-76 lbs for my medium-sized work. After the base coat has set, I topcoat it with integrally colored decorative concrete, but recently I have started painting the surface. All of my sculptures are intended for indoors. However, using current technology and methods, they could be replicated, scaled to a determined size, and fabricated in materials impervious to outdoor elements.
About the Details:
SOLO EXHIBITION
2003 Atrium 505 Sansome Street,“Sculpture by Mary Oros,” San Francisco, CA
TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2024 NY2CA Gallery, “Gestural Space”: Paula Boas Paintings & Mary Oros Sculptures, Benicia, CA
2008 Arts Benicia Gallery, “Affinities and Variations,” Benicia, C A
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Arts Benicia, “Exploring Monochromatic”, Benicia, CA
2023 The deYoung Museum, “The deYoung Open 2023”, San Francisco, CA
2023 Marin MOCA, “There Is Magic Here”, Novato, CA
2023 Desta Gallery, “Rooted In Wonder”, Mill Valley, CA
2023 Desta Gallery, “Capturing the Ephemeral Beauty”, Mill Valley, CA
2022 di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, “True North”, Napa, CA
2022 Blue Line Arts, “Crocker/Kingsley”, Roseville, CA
2022 Gallery 825, “Open Show”, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Epperson Gallery, “On The Strait”, Crockett, CA
2022 Art Market San Francisco, Desta Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
2022 Desta Gallery, “Solace”, Mill Valley, CA
2021 Marin MOCA, “ConVERGEnce”, Novato, CA
2021 Desta Gallery, “Shifting Directions”, Mill Valley, CA
2021 The Visionary Art Projects (NY, NY), virtual exhibition: “ The Era of Change”
2020 Desta Gallery, “Beyond”, Mill Valley, CA
2019 Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery’s JP@The Bank, “Tahoe Blue” show, Lafayette, CA
2018 Coda Gallery, "New Artist Group Show", Palm Desert, CA
2018 Art San Diego, Booth #317, Wyland Center, Del Mar, CA
2014 Gallery 621, "Guests of the Gallery", Benicia, CA
2012 Gallery 621, "From the Arsenal and Beyond", Benicia, CA
2010 Sacramento State University Library Gallery, “As They See It”, Sacramento, CA
2008 A New Leaf Gallery, “Spring Show,” Sonoma, CA
2008 Arts Benicia Gallery, “Benicia Artists Open Studios,” Benicia, CA
2007 Arts Benicia Gallery, “Art of a Community,” Benicia, CA
2007 Arts Benicia Gallery, “Benicia Artists Open Studios,” Benicia, CA
2006 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2005 Grounds For Sculpture, “New Additions Outdoors, Spring/Summer,” Hamilton, NJ
2004 Grounds For Sculpture, “Off The Rim: Pacific Rim Sculptors,” Hamilton, NJ
2004 Pacific Rim Sculptors Group, Winter Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
2004 Taking The Leap Group Exhibition, Emeryville, CA
2003 Pacific Rim Sculptors Group, Fall Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
2003 Pacific Rim Sculptors Group, Summer Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
EDUCATION
1977 Cleveland Institute of Art, BFA Sculpture
1975 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
PUBLICATIONS
December 2022, Artiste Culture Online Blog, ‘5 Sculptors Who Are Redefining Sculpting’
May 2017, Benicia Magazine ,'Concrete Couture' - A Fitting Description for Artist Mary Oros' Work’
AWARDS
2023 Honorable Mention, Sheridan Prize, San Francisco Bay Area
2022 81st Crocker Kingsley Exhibition, 3rd Place Award
2021 Honorable Mention, Marin MOCA “ConVERGEnce” show
1977 Agnes Gund Award, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH
1975 Purchase Prize, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME
PUBLIC COLLECTION
Grounds For Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Medivation, San Francisco, CA
Mrs. Suzanne Narducci, Los Gatos, CA
Marcia Barrow Taylor, Lafayette, CA
Dan Jensen & Gene Doherty, Benicia, CA