To learn more about Sculpture | Guy J. Bellaver, visit BellaverStudios.com
Sculpture is a Verified Veteran Owned Small Business
CV/Exhibition History
Mr. Bellaver’s work spans many media, including metal, stone, and wood, and mixed media, including metals and glass and fiberglass and steel. He works in both abstract and representational formats. Below is a listing of selected commissions, shows, and exhibitions. In addition to over 30 pieces of public art, his work is in private collections around the country and in Europe. His entire portfolio may be seen at BellaverStudios.com.
Recent Juried and Invitational Competitions/Exhibitions/Shows:
Chicago Sculpture Exhibit, Chicago, IL
Peoria Sculpture Walk, Peoria, IL
CSI Sculpture Invasion 2015 Exhibition, Koehnline Museum of Art, DesPlaines, IL
Lincoln Park Zoo Sculpture Show – Nature in Motion, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL
Art Gathering: Sculptors Connect Exhibition, Governor’s State University, University Park, IL
Monona Terrace Sculpture Exhibition, Monona Terrace, Madison, WI
Oak Park Sculpture Walk, Oak Park, IL
Shirley & George Wiemer Sculpture Competition/Exhibition, Univ. of Mt. Union, Alliance, OH
Art on the River, Port of Dubuque, Dubuque, IA
Sculptures on the Promenade, Edina Promenade, Edina, MN
Sculpture Tour Salina, Salina, KS
“Avenue of Sculpture Exhibit”/Art Chicago, Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL
SculptureWalk/Orpheum Theater Sculpture Garden, Sioux Falls, SD
Sculpture in the Park, Benson Sculpture Garden, Loveland, CO
Turchin Center for the Arts Rosen Sculpture Competition (Appalachian State U.), Boone, NC
Previous Exhibitions include:
Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, Sioux Falls, SD
Ann Arbor Street Arts Festival, Ann Arbor, MI
Museum of Art/Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Butler Institute of Art, Youngstown, OH,
Lambert Sculpture Fair, Dallas, TX
Westmoreland County Museum of Art, Greensburg, PA
Guest Demonstrator:
Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, PA.
Fort Armstrong Folk Festival, Kittanning, PA.
Sculptor in Residence – Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Selected One Man and Small Group Shows:
Saint Vincent Gallery at Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA
Monroe Cultural Arts Center, Monroe, WI
Schingoethe Center for Native American Art and Culture at Aurora University, Aurora, IL
Fermilab Art Gallery, Batavia, IL
Elgin Community College, Elgin, IL
Clarion University, Clarion, PA
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA
Selected Public Art and Corporate Commissions, Collections, and Competitions:
The Gratitude Project, St. Charles, IL
William Dennison Cary, Cary Historical Society and Park District, Cary, Illinois
reflections, St. Charles, IL – (reflectionsatVolunteerPlaza.wordpress.com)
1970, Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA – (won national competition)
Fibonacci in Moto, Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA
The Arts Together, Batavia Fine Arts Centre, Batavia, IL
Kane County Veterans Memorial, Kane County Government Center Campus, Geneva, IL – (won regional search)
The Growth of Post Modern, MCC Technology, St. Charles, IL
The World, Arthur Andersen Center for Professional Development, St. Charles, IL
Ēkwabet (Monument), Riverwalk, St. Charles, IL
St. Therese of Lisieux, Daughters of Saint Paul, Boston, MA
Brave, Armstrong County Courthouse, Kittanning, PA
Veterans Memorial Competition, Los Gatos, California – Finalist
Aurora Public Library Competition, Aurora, IL – Finalist
Wilson Street Bridge Competition, Batavia, Illinois – Finalist
Avera McKennan Hospital Competition, Sioux Falls, South Dakota – Finalist
Biography:
After his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, Mr. Bellaver earned a B.A. in Economics from Saint Vincent College. He has worked as a sculptor full time since 1975. He has pursued graduate studies in art at the master’s level at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, and Northern Illinois University, as well as The School of the Art Institute in Chicago. He is a current member of Chicago Sculpture International and the International Sculpture Center, and a past member of Chicago Artist’s Coalition, Dupage Art League, Fox Valley Arts Council, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Texas Society of Sculptors and South Hills Art League. Mr. Bellaver is an inductee into the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame.
General Artist Statement:
After I graduated from college, while working as a sales rep for Xerox, I began exploring my interest in art. My first painting was an interpretation of a rainbow – my second was a Fibonacci Spiral. I found that I wasn’t able to achieve what I wanted with paints, and so I switched to sculpting.
Sculpture immediately became my medium – and I found particular satisfaction in working with stone. The first few “chunks” of limestone and marble that I used to execute those early sculptures were limited by their volume, and I found myself pulling geometrical shapes out of that volume. I worked to combine the organic nature of the stone with the positive and negative spaces created when you cut away stone to reveal the geometry within it.
In the 40 plus years that I have been a professional sculptor, I have worked in many media – from stone to wood to metal. My work over four decades is eclectic, but shares a theme or style that is both organic and technical. Today, it is a bit less about shapes and more about energy.
My most recent work has been in stainless steel, bronze, and mixed media (including metal and glass, and painted fiberglass and steel rod), and I’ve started to explore those media through kinetic work. My sculptures range from “tabletop” to monumental pieces over 18 feet tall. I have always been fascinated by the relationship of positive to negative space – the energy of their interaction, and my art. In fact, the relationship of art to the STEM disciplines has informed my artwork since my very first, extremely geometric stone sculptures.
I followed a very “unlinear” route to art – through work, the Army, and college. The journey was an experience – every day spent as an artist has been a joy.
Ēkwabet 