THE ODYSSEY of Sculpture Tom Voiss:
MAKING OF A CENTAUR
Stand off to the side somewhere in any gallery exhibiting one of the bronze horseheads by sculpture Tom Voiss. As visitors come and go you will be able to tell which of them are horse people, for they will be the ones who walk up to the piece, regard it a moment and reach up automatically to gently pet the back of the horse's ears and the poll of the mane. This gesture is a tribute to the artist's ability to breath life into metal. It signifies the difference between a mere likeness and the embodiment of the spirit of the horse, and nowhere is this difference more apparent than in the magnificent horsehead bronze by Voiss, "Legend Maker".
If not literally a half-man half-horsehead centaur, Tom apparently was born with the unity of equine-human spirit that the mythical being implies. Before he could read or write he was sketching and coloring the many visions of Equus he saw with his mind's eye, growing up in Portland, Oregon. At 10, he had his first chance to live and work with horses all around him, on a thoroughbred breeding farm in Bend, Oregon. Since then, Tom has made it his business to earn a livelihood using any means that enable him to live close to his horses- a passion shared by his wife, Beverly. By profession an entrepreneur in endeavors ranging from movie production to Mexican real estate development. Tom also pursued his talent for capturing his beloved horses on canvas and in sculpture. After minoring in art at the University of Oregon, he studied sculpting at the art Museum of Oregon. There, he was noticed and taken on as a student by two of the eras's finest artists, C.S. Price and E.B. Quigley.
This work has taken Tom all over the world but home has always been Saddle Creek Ranch, first in Malibu and now in South Central California, where he and Beverly have bred horses for the last 23 years. One of these magnificent animals, El Jefe Gitano, was the model for "Legend Maker," but the majesty of the Spanish horse itself was the inspiration. These remarkably intelligent animals are the product of hundreds of years of selective breeding, with their no-bounce no-trot gait, they are the most willing and enthusiastic of partners on whatever journey their rider chooses to make. If you have ridden a Peruvian Paso, you've ridden something more than a horse and you know it immediately and his scope for comparison is broad indeed.
In his quest to understand the heritage of the Peruvian horse, Tom Voiss traveled to Lippica, Yugoslavia to study the Lippizans--an Iberian horse imported centuries ago by the Austrians--and then to Spain to discover the elegant Andalusians that so inspired Pizarro and infused his subsequent breeding program in Peru. While in Spain, Tom also rode the Andalusians, the Spanish Barbs, Fresians, and the Spanish Jennets. After journeying to Morocco to ride their excellent Arabians, Tom went to Poland to study and ride the best Polish Arabs. Though the Peruvian carries no Arab blood, they are a breed like the Peruvian that embodies that magical charisma that make horses so special. These years have enabled Voiss to create his masterpieces--the stallions and mares of Saddle Creek Ranch, and the bronze pieces that express the beauty and nobility of these special creatures.
Without the lifestyle and his dedication to his horses, there would be no "Legend Maker." It is a result of this relationship that it came to be. "I just want the world to know how special they are to me."
As Voiss begins his next piece, the heads of a mare and her foal, you see him standing out at the corral watching a young filly and saying softly, to no one in particular, "Look at the nostrils on that baby..." Later, back in the studio, you look at the nostrils on the partially-completed mare's face, the kind eyes you've seen turned on you so many times as you walk the Voiss pasture, and you know there is another legend in the making.
And now his latest masterpiece bronze "Reverendo", a life size piece finished in twenty-two carat gold leaf, soon to be available in one-half life size, can be seen at the prestigious Michelangelo Gallery in Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas. It is a breathtaking experience. For once again he has captured the very soul of horses. There are only four sculptures by Voiss that are, as yet, still available. All previous pieces are sold out.
