Kevin Box

Kevin Box was conceived in New Mexico, born in Pennsylvania, grew up in Oklahoma and received his higher education in Georgia, New York City and Texas. He now resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife Jennifer. As a boy he lived in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, beneath “the tree that escaped the crowded forest,” Frank Lloyd Wright’s only built skyscraper. Throughout high school, Box studied graphic arts and apprenticed summers at an uncle’s design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It was there that Box’s passion for creativity was developed, where he formed his relationship with design and with paper.

Box received a four-year scholarship to study graphic design at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Following his junior year, an Art History grant took him to Greece for three weeks, providing him the opportunity to see some of the great antiquities of the world first hand. The experience forever changed him, “I realized that all of my graphic design work was ending up in the landfill as trash and I discovered the durability of the conversation that continues through the history of art and I wanted to be a part of that.”

Box pursued this new passion by changing his major to fine art. He focused on sculpture and art in public places because in his mind “printmaking didn’t fit the challenge.” After graduating with a BFA, he left paper behind and began working in an Atlanta foundry but quickly realized there were more foundries to learn from in Austin, TX. For three years, he labored under a self-imposed apprenticeship to become proficient in metal casting. By working in the foundries, he attained an exhaustive knowledge of the casting techniques and fabricating processes necessary to create durable works of art. The artists he worked for mentored him through his exploration of style, as well as the business of art. Eventually his dedication helped him manage and build one of the largest fine art foundries in Texas, and Box used that opportunity to develop his own voice. “The best thing I ever did was to trade a raise in pay for casting rights in the foundry. I moved to the smallest town I had ever lived in to be closer to the shop and worked there from dawn till dusk.”

That decision afforded him the freedom of experimentation. Ignited with inspiration, a full service studio to work in and a treasure trove of paper found in the warehouse of an old print shop the foundry was renting, he started working with paper again. “It took two years of tireless experimentation for me to develop the process of casting paper into bronze, another seven years to perfect, and it continues to evolve today.”

From the beginning, Box’s work received recognition from other artists and collectors alike. His unique style married paper with the age-old tradition of bronze casting and refreshed audiences. In 2004, he was elected as the youngest member of the National Sculptors’ Guild and was recognized by Southwest Art Magazine as one of the top 21 artists under 31 in the southwest. Box exhibited throughout the country on a vigorous schedule of festival shows that provided him with valuable feedback and direct communication to thousands of connoisseurs and collectors. He discovered the art markets of the country and professional galleries that wanted exclusive representation of his work. He continued pursuing art in public places throughout the country and in 2006, moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In 2013, Jennifer and Kevin Box created the exhibition Origami in the Garden. The exhibition includes stunning large-scale metal sculptures that capture the delicate nature of origami, featuring Box’s own compositions, as well as collaborations with world-renowned origami artists Tim Armijo, Te Jui Fu, Beth Johnson, Michael G. LaFosse and Robert J. Lang. Box continues to push the boundaries of the casting process. His unique style and approach, combined with an innovative vision like no other, contributes to his aspiration of place within 21st Century Art History.

More on the artist’s website.