Biography:

I was born July 22, 1947 in Hawthorne, California. My family moved to the Venice and Culver City area of Los Angeles around 1950, where I gained an early influence from the remains of the Venice canals (then inundated with oil derricks), making the old bridges and canals even more interesting and mysterious.

My father was very much an early influence on my work, being a metal and wood worker himself. I learned building skills from him as he would whip together small buildings and additions to our property and he was quite inventive himself. In 1962, I saw some work by Edward Kienholz and began making sculpture from found objects. Also, about that time, I became interested in surfing and began building skateboards and surfboards, honing my skills shaping and working with fiberglass.

When I turned 19, I built a boat and lived on it in Marina Del Ray for the next 6 years while I went to Santa Monica College, where, after just five years, I graduated with a degree in Art. It took that long because I just kept taking any class that I was interested in, starting with Architecture and ending in Art.

Since that time, I have had several studios, my first being in North Hollywood and ending up in my current studio in Burbank. I have had the opportunity to show my art at my own personal gallery that is in a business I own and which has become the oldest art gallery in Burbank, having been open for the last 23 years.

My work is made from found objects of all kinds, from spaghetti sauce to concrete, with lots of sculpted wood included. I hardly ever make a series of work, each piece being different from the next, although you may find some connecting links. I am also a writer and have incorporated some writing and even the titles of the piece in some works. And as with my writing, there is a lot of humor and social commentary in all my work.

My goal in art is to make people feel better for having seen it.

Education:

Associate of Arts Degree, Santa Monica College

Exhibitions:

Artist's Statement:

I just like to find objects, incorporate them in a piece with a lot of meaning and often humor. If people feel better after seeing my work then I have succeeded.

http://www.czappa.com