Close Menu

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    Jane Gottlieb: Color as a Way of Life

    July 3, 2025

    Lidia Paladino: Etchings That Hold Time

    July 3, 2025

    Alan Brown: The Art of Quiet Perception

    July 3, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Art Insight
    • Home
    • Cultural

    • Galleries

    • Museums

    • Reviews
    • Spotlights
    The Art Insight
    You are at:Home»Uncategorized»William Schaaf: Sculpting Memory, Spirit, and Stone
    Uncategorized

    William Schaaf: Sculpting Memory, Spirit, and Stone

    Mary WBy Mary WJune 10, 2025No Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Email

    Art, for William Schaaf, has never been about surface beauty. It’s been a way to work things out—spiritually, emotionally, and physically. At 80, he’s still showing up to the studio. Still molding forms from bronze, layering pigment on canvas, and watching the spirit of the horse move through each piece. Schaaf has spent over six decades with the horse as a central figure—not as a literal image, but as a symbol. The horse, in his hands, becomes a carrier of memory, a spiritual force. His connection to Zuni and Navajo fetish traditions runs deep—not for imitation, but to honor the role of object as healing tool.

    His sculptures and paintings are meant to be felt, not just seen. Schaaf often works in bronze, patinated to echo the color and feel of stones like turquoise or jade—materials known for their healing properties. He doesn’t just create something to look at. He creates something you’re supposed to interact with. Some of his work even invites touch.

    Tantra Gurl is a good example. The 36-inch bronze sculpture lives in several Florida museums. Schaaf sees her as a large-scale fertility fetish—a “power horse” with presence. Her form is full of intention, and her surface is finished in rich, mineral tones that suggest ritual and memory. He describes the patination process as “watercoloring with chemicals,” which captures both the danger and care involved. There’s nothing accidental in her making.

    And people notice. Tantra Gurl has been brought into places like a Kentucky breeding barn, where she served not as decoration, but as a spiritual guest. When she was shown at the Harn Museum of Art, viewers were drawn to her. They wanted to touch her, feel her presence. Schaaf encouraged it. He even told people to wear cotton gloves so they could polish the bronze with their hands. But the sculpture also stirred discomfort. Her curves, her energy—some called it erotic. She was eventually removed from display and stored away, quietly, for years.

    That wasn’t the only time she came close to disappearing. The original clay version almost didn’t survive. Schaaf sculpted it to fit a custom kiln. But a cold snap and too much moisture almost ruined the form. He and his team wrapped the sculpture in electric blankets just to keep it from cracking. Then the kiln exploded. The piece was damaged. The original buyer backed out. But another collector, watching the whole saga unfold, stepped in. They offered to cast the sculpture in bronze, along with two others. Schaaf calls that turn of events Fortunata. Just enough luck to keep the work alive.

    Another piece, River Horse, shows a different side of his approach. It’s an oil painting that now sits in the Orlando Museum of Art. The tone is softer, less physical. While Tantra Gurl stands boldly in space, River Horse feels almost like a dream—something remembered more than seen. Schaaf doesn’t aim for anatomical precision. His focus is on energy. On presence.

    What ties these works together is his belief in the horse as a kind of medicine. Not a fix. More like a companion. A quiet guide. Schaaf doesn’t split the spiritual from the sensual, or the real from the mythic. He lets it all mingle. His bronzes feel ceremonial. His paintings feel intimate. Both are grounded in personal truth.

    He returns again and again to Indigenous craft and purpose—not to imitate but to respect. He knows the difference between copying a form and honoring its meaning. That attention—to what an object does, not just what it looks like—defines much of his work.

    Even now, there’s no sign that Schaaf is slowing down. His studio is still active. His materials are still familiar. The horses are still arriving—some fierce, some quiet. Each one tells a story. Each one makes room. Schaaf isn’t chasing endings. He’s making space—for memory, for healing, and for whatever comes next.

    Mary W
    • Website

    Related Posts

    Lidia Paladino: Etchings That Hold Time

    By Mary WJuly 3, 2025

    Weaving Connections: Randa Hijazi’s Threads of Humanity

    By Mary WOctober 19, 2024

    Marina Chisty: Capturing Time and Transformation Through Art

    By Mary WOctober 19, 2024

    Katerina Tsitsela: Unveiling the Internal Landscapes of Emotion and Perception

    By Mary WOctober 19, 2024
    Add A Comment
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Don't Miss

    Jane Gottlieb: Color as a Way of Life

    By Mary WJuly 3, 2025

    Jane Gottlieb has built her life around color. Raised and based in Los Angeles, she…

    Lidia Paladino: Etchings That Hold Time

    July 3, 2025

    Alan Brown: The Art of Quiet Perception

    July 3, 2025

    Derrick Bullard: A Life Spent in Paint

    July 2, 2025
    Stay In Touch
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Vimeo
    Our Picks

    Jane Gottlieb: Color as a Way of Life

    By Mary WJuly 3, 2025

    Lidia Paladino: Etchings That Hold Time

    By Mary WJuly 3, 2025

    Alan Brown: The Art of Quiet Perception

    By Mary WJuly 3, 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from SmartMag about art & design.

    Our Picks

    Jane Gottlieb: Color as a Way of Life

    July 3, 2025

    Lidia Paladino: Etchings That Hold Time

    July 3, 2025

    Alan Brown: The Art of Quiet Perception

    July 3, 2025
    More

    Stuart Beck: A Painter Who Sees What’s Overlooked

    July 1, 2025

    Oronde Kairi: Painting the Pulse of Everyday Life

    July 1, 2025

    Carolin Rechberg: Moving Through Art, Staying With the Moment

    June 20, 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest news from GossipMag about art, fashion and celebrities.

    • About Us
    • Disclaimer
    • DMCA
    • Privacy Policy
    © 2025 The Art Insight

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.