About Jeff Glode Wise

Life Lines

Art has inhabited me continuously, and the making of objects has defined my life. I graduated from East High School in Denver CO., a wildly diverse congregation of music, culture and serious study. That was the extent of my formal education, choosing instead to nurture curiosity and expand my knowledge by traveling, hungry for every encounter possible. I’ve supported myself as an artist my entire life, with working diversions as a cowboy and stone mason. In addition to my purely sculptural work,  architecture has been of parallel interest. I’ve built 3 significant art homes in addition to other unique structures in cast concrete, welded steel and glass.

Statement

Eluding the grasp of gravity through balance defines the starting point for my work. My imagery draws inspiration from the movement of birds, Mayan Stelae, curling waves and smoke. My pieces are frequently transparent metal grids, casting undulating shadows which shift and dance. I’ve always had a compulsion to make things and I enjoy the process of creation and problem solving as much as I do the finished work.

My figurative work represents people transformed through circumstance, altering and shifting their perspective and the viewers perception. In the case of “the Elemental Human” I wanted to create a being which transcends the strictly human, someone of a possibly interstellar origin and certainly a polyethnic one. The sculpture resonates and echoes the songs of the stars.

Jeff Glode Wise - Modern Art Sculpture in Colorado

Sculptor Resume

Museum Collections

Museum Collections

  • Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art, Denver CO. permanent collection; 2018
  • Boston Museum of Fine Arts, permanent collection; 2007
  • Museum of Art and Design, New York City, NY permanent collection; 1998
  • Smithsonian Institute National Museum of American Art, Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC; permanent collection; 1996

Public Art Placement

Public Art Placement

  • 2025     La Plata County CO. “Turtle Mountain Starship” permanent hanging installation in the La Plata County Airport
  • 2024     City of Durango CO. “Floating the Milky Wave” permanently installed on the Animas River Trail
  • 2023      City of Greeley CO. “Branching Outward Bound” balanced kinetic piece permanently installed at the entrance to the new city library.
  • 2022     Durango River Trail, “Celestial Sailor” permanent  installation, Durango Colorado
  • 2022     Fiddlers Green, Denver CO. 1 year installation of “Focused Anomaly”
  • 2022     Colorado Springs CO. 1 year installation of “Philomena dates a Photon”
  • 2021    Durango Public Library, “Sailing the Circular Sea”
  • 2020    Durango Art Center, “Embrace” permanent lobby installation, private donor, Durango CO
  • 2019    Rincon subdivision, “Rincon Ascending”, corporate, Durango CO.
  • 2018    City of Durango, “Take a Seat on Main Street mini Museum”, Public Arts Grant, Durango CO

Current Gallery Representation

Current Gallery Representation

  • Space Gallery 400 Santa Fe Dr. Denver CO.80204
  • Patina Gallery 131 West Palace Ave. Santa Fe NM 87501

Instructor and Juror

Instructor and Juror

  • Florida Metalsmith’s Assoc., Instructor, 3 day mechanism workshop, 2019
  • Penland School of Art, North Carolina, Instructor, two-week metals workshop, 2003
  • American Craft Council Shows, Juror, 1993, 2002
  • Worchester Center for Crafts,Worcester Ma. 3 day workshop 1998
  • Taos Pueblo, Society of North American Goldsmiths, Instructor, 5-day workshop, 1997
  • Philadelphia College of Art, Instructor, three-day workshop, 1994.
  • Northern Arizona University, Instructor, two-day lapidary workshop, April, 1990.
  • Escola de Ljotja, Barcelona, Spain, Instructor, two-week seminar, 1993.
  • Loyola University, Chicago, IL, Instructor, two-day lapidary workshop, 1992.
  • New Mexico Arts and Crafts Fair, Juror, May, 1990

Selected Exhibitions

Selected Exhibitions

  • “Why do you Ask” solo show, Space Gallery Denver CO. 2024
  • “Metamorphosis” group show sponsored by Denver CO. Art Students League 2024
  • “Evidence of Unlikely Events” solo show, Space Gallery Denver CO. 2021
  • “Opening Outward” One person Exhibit at the Littleton Museum, metro Denver 2020
  • S.O.F.A. Sculptural Objects, Functional Art, Chicago, IL and NYC, NY 1994 – 2016
  • Todd Reed Gallery, Venice CA. sculpture exhibition, 2015
  • “Different Eyes” Sculpture exhibition, Durango Art Center, Durango CO. 2014
  • “The Art of Gold” Traveling Show 2002-2006
    • Mint Museum/Charlotte N.C.
    • Arkansas Art Center/Little Rock
    • Crocker Museum, Sacramento, CA
    • University of Richmond VA.
    • Anchorage Alaska Museum of History and Art
  • Museum of Art, Tallahassee, FL, “Extreme Metal” 2003
  • Contemporary Crafts Museum, Houston, TX, Opening Show, 2001
  • Aaron Faber Gallery, New York City, NY 1995 to present
  • American Craft Council National Show, Baltimore, MD 1992 – 2015
  • Washburn University Sculpture Invitational, Washburn IN 1999
  • Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM 1998, 1999
  • Loveland Arts Council Show, Loveland Co 1998
  • Hipotesi Gallery, Barcelona Spain 1993
  • Downey Museum of Art, Downey, CA 1987
  • Glass and Metal Exhibition, Pforzheim, West Germany, 1989

Awards

Awards

  • Second Place Award , Saint Louis Art Show , 2009
  • First Place/Headley Whitney Museum/Design Competition, Louisville Ky. 2007
  • First Place Jewelry Award, American Craft Council, Baltimore, MD 2002
  • American Craft Council, Baltimore, National Show, First Place, 2001
  • Jurors Cash Award, Lancaster Museum, Lancaster, PA, 1999
  • Excellence in Design Award, Philadelphia Art Museum Craft Show, Philadelphia, PA, 1992
  • Jurors Award, Southwest Arts Festival, Albuquerque, NM, 1988
  • First Place, Art in the Rocky Mountains States, Denver, CO, 1987
  • Best of Show, Colorado Artist Craftsman Annual Show, Denver, CO, 1987