STATEMENT
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A sculpture should draw the viewer in.
Where possible, a sculpture should be appreciable from all angles.
Art can delight, but it can also instruct and even enlighten; that's my hope for the "reef series," which teaches ecological stewardship.
A sculpture is an expression of the artist's feelings and beliefs. Hopefully, the joy or anguish in creating a sculpture comes through to the viewer.
A sculpture should be touchable. Texture is extremely important in all my sculptures. It reminds me of my blind grandfather teaching me as a young child that by feeling a sculpture he was able to visualize what the artist felt and went through when the sculpture was being created.

Some sculpture series are intended to be seen under various illuminations, since the whole image changes from day to night. That concept is incorporated in some pieces of the Pinnacle Series.

To express a concept or sensation, the artist should not be afraid to explore the use of new techniques and new materials. For instance, in depicting a segment of a coral reef, I use a cutting torch to melt and manipulate the steel. As a result, the viewer understands the resemblance between the texture of a coral reef and that of the volcano that formed it. Other technical innovations of mine include the use of marbles to depict the 50 states in the U.S. flag, industrial steel mesh to illustrate the fine latticework of a sea fan, and sections of industrial rubber floormat to convey the tentacles of feeding coral.

In certain series, some of the elements are movable because the relationships between the inhabitants of the reef are always changing. The viewer can change the relationships of form and color.

Some of the series (Sea Pinnacles, for instance), have smaller elements to signify change and movement because the coral reef is a dynamic living group of organisms and fish.



SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:

May – June, 2007 - U-P ARTS SPACE, group exhibition, Beijing, China

May, 2007 - Group exhibition at Southampton Elks Lodge Fairgrounds, LI, NY

December 5 - 30, 2006 – "Creatures From The Deep", Solo exhibition at Broadway Gallery, 473 Broadway, NYC.

September 15 - 30, 2006 – Solo exhibition at Broadway Gallery, 473 Broadway, NYC.

August 2006 - Kelp Coral Series, Beijing Gallery, China.

May 14 to June 6, 2006 - "Sculptures", Netherlands Must Be Contemporary Art Center, Beijing, China

September 2005 - "Organically Speaking", curated by Charles Hecht, Broadway Gallery, NYC

March 2005 - "Sculptures" by Charles Hecht, Broadway Gallery, NYC

February 2005 - "AMERICAN & CHINESE Flag Sculptures". Pickled Arts Center, Beijing, China

2004 - "AMERICA" Charles Hecht 2004-2005, Color Elefante Gallery, Valencia, Spain

2004 - "AMERICA" Charles Hecht 2004-2005, Berliner KunstProjekt, Berlin, Germany
www.berlinkunstprojekt.com

2003 - "SEASONAL LITTER", BROADWAY GALLERY ANNEX, NYC
www.broadwaygallerynyc.com

2003 - Fine Arts Gallery of Bronxville

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