About the Work:
My sculpture begins in response to a feeling. The feeling informs my visual direction, at which point I start drawing in space with my armature material. Each line is an emotional response to the previous one as I create the overall gesture. It is a visual articulation that I can’t always put into words until well after my sculptures are finished. While deeply affected emotionally by the world around me, I am interested in creating work that offers a sense of respite, calm, and perhaps joy, which is how I feel when the work has come to a successful completion. I’m attracted to natural forms, how they transition into one another, and the way they move through space. Dance also inspires me- the emotional expression as well as the choreographed form. I want my sculptures to feel alive, and it is important to me that they work well in the round. I want to walk around each piece and feel a continuum so that the expression is clear anywhere I pause.
Besides designing the piece I design the process to build it, and my building process is constantly evolving as I continue to explore form. I started out creating sculptures on my scale because I liked that feeling of one on one, similar to dancing with a partner, but now I am working on a smaller scale, under 100 lbs. making it easier to transport my work. The majority of my time is spent creating the armature. As I build, I am constantly working up, down, and from side to side, staying focused on how well the sculpture is developing in the round. Once completed, the armature is very close to the sculpture’s final form.
I coat and pack the armature with my mix of concrete for my base coat- a recipe given to me by an engineer involved in bridge building. It is structural, stronger than I need, has some flexural as well as tensile strength, and allows me to work fairly thin. When it has set, I topcoat with a concrete overlay meant for flooring, which has a natural-looking grain and allows me to have a smooth finish coat with integral color. I love color, and although an intuitive choice, I feel it must work well with the form and not overpower it. Finally, for a soft satin finish, my pieces are lightly sealed, waxed, buffed, and suitable for indoors.
I have been asked about making outdoor work, and have recently researched having my sculpture replicated in bronze. The latest technology involves scanning the sculpture, enabling the piece to be scaled up or down, and eliminating the need to make a mold. From the scan, a 3D-printed substrate is made. The substrate would then be infused with wax, made foundry ready, and cast in bronze using the lost wax method.
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