Michael Gorman
Born
Michael was born in 1938.
Early Life
Michael grew up in central Texas, where he developed a spirit of hard work and determination.
Education
Michael briefly apprenticed in photography in Los Angeles before embarking on extensive travels through Mexico, Central, and South America, where he lived among working people and captured their lives in sculpture and on film.
Career
After returning to the United States, Michael continued a vagabond lifestyle in Dallas, San Francisco, and Philadelphia before settling in the Pikes Peak region in 1971. In the early 1960s, he committed to making art accessible to everyone, a philosophy he called “Art for the People.” In 1974, he began work on his most ambitious project, Magic Town, a 1/6th scale miniature city block featuring dozens of buildings and hundreds of sculpted characters. First displayed in the mid-1980s, Michael continued to work on Magic Town for 35 years, calling it his unfinished masterpiece.
Materials
Michael creates originals out of microcrystalline wax-based clay. Latex rubber moulds are made from these originals, and pieces are cast in Hydrocal, a mixture of white gypsum and cement, or a special blend of polyurethane casting resin and marble dust. For his large-scale cityscapes, the walls are made of polyurethane foam, while characters are typically Hydrocal and props such as Coke bottles, beer cans, and ashtrays are made with polyurethane casting resin and marble dust.
Style & Subject
His sculptures are not portraits but composite sketches of humanity, drawn from people he encountered during his travels. Likewise, his cityscapes and street scenes combine architectural elements from multiple cities he lived in, including San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Dallas. Magic Town exemplifies this approach, featuring life-sized, interactive miniature streets and buildings populated by characters inspired by his drifter experiences.
Awards & Exhibitions
Michael’s sculptures, cityscapes, and street scenes are collected and displayed by businesses and individuals worldwide, including former Presidents George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, James Caan, Willie Nelson, Burt Reynolds, John Elway, and Colin Powell. His work is frequently presented as a piece of “Americana” to foreign dignitaries and heads of state.
Michael Gorman art for sale from The Sculpture Park is detailed below:
-
Ceramic £1,140 inc VATTabletop Figurative Sculpture – Evening News by Michael Gorman (Edition of 5000)
Evening News by Michael Gorman, Ceramic