Gilberto Romero

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It was during a summer job at Shidoni Foundry in Tesuque, New Mexico that Gilberto Romero became enamored with bronze. With his love of the Bronze medium, Romero put plans to go to college on hold so he could continue working at Shidoni and started exploring his new-found passion.

“I knew I wanted to do something in art when I was in junior high school,” Romero recalls. “I found I could express myself easier in bronze than through other media.”

After working at Shidoni for more than a year, Romero spent a decade doing finish work for three acclaimed New Mexico sculptors: Gino Miles, Peter Woytuk and Estella Loretto, while creating his own pieces. “They gave me honest feedback and the confidence to go for it,” he says. “I learned how to trust my own eye.”

Romero’s sculptures reflect his love of the outdoors. Using bronze and locally-sourced stones, Romero sculpts birds and organic forms that remind him of what he sees and feels in the forest. He says that he, “sees shapes everywhere” and his use of positive and negative space provides a sense of freedom, flow and play. His work has a sensual rhythm and beautiful curves. Viewers are able to open themselves up to the joy and grace of movement. The birds in his sculptures communicate the ability to soar and expand in life.

“I’m a huge outdoorsman,” he explains. “The outdoors constantly inspires me. I often bring stones and pieces of wood back with me from camping trips. I love the outdoors and draw inspiration from watching Mother Nature at work. The natural world is a tremendous inspiration in my life.”

Unlike most bronze artists, Romero custom-fabricates all his designs in his studio. His work is strongly founded in the actual casting, fabrication and patination of bronze. He utilizes processes that give his work a cleaner, sharper line than most bronze artists can achieve. Through masterful welding and fabrication techniques Romero achieves a fluid and continuous line in his work. This gives his sculptures the sense of achieving the impossible.

Gilberto Romero was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he still resides with his family.

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