Profile
Mary Oros
Born: 1953
Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Based in: Benicia, California
Mary Oros lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her concrete sculptures are sensuous, deceptively delicate, and seem to defy gravity. In 1975, she attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine, where she received the Purchase Prize, and in 1977 earned a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art, Ohio, where she received the Agnes Gund Award. Oros has led careers in product design, creating contemporary concrete garden planters, contemporary cast bronze furniture hardware, and contemporary cast resin costume jewelry. In 2005, as a gift of the Seward Johnson Atelier, her sculpture "Henry Takes His First Steps" was replicated in aluminum and installed at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey. Her sculptures have been shown at the SFMOMA Artists Gallery, represented from 2018-2020 by Coda Gallery in Palm Desert, Ca., and since 2019, her work has been represented by Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery in Lafayette, Ca.
About Mary Oros
What inspires you?
I’m attracted to natural forms and how they transition into one another. Dance also inspires me- the emotional expression as well as the choreographed movement.
Describe your creative process.
My sculpture begins in response to a feeling. The feeling informs my visual direction, at which point I start drawing on paper or in space with my armature materials. The majority of my work is in the armature building, but each piece takes several months to complete. I want my sculpture to work well in the round, so that anywhere I pause the expression is clear. Color is my final decision, which simply comes to me once I’ve completed the form. Finally, my sculptures are lightly sealed, waxed, buffed, and suitable for indoors only.
What are 3 words that best describe your work?
deceptively delicate, rhythmic, sensuous
Who are some artists that have influenced your work?
Isamu Noguchi, Jean Arp, Martin Puryear, Eva Hild
What is the most important tool when creating your work?
My hands
What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
Stay true to your authentic self.
Where do you go for inspiration?
Outdoors, and as close to nature as possible.