Bruce M. Gagnier

Long fascinated by the human figure, Bruce M. Gagnier is a largely self -taught artist. His clay sculptures, which from the beginning have been both the form and content of his work, draw on his memories of the sculptural figures and Renaissance drawings in many museums here in the U.S. and abroad, as well as from his experiences working from the live model. The life-size figures he makes today are inspired by those memories and guided by his imagination.

After receiving a BA in Art History from Williams College in the Spring of 1963, Gagnier had his first full time immersion in sculpture, painting, and drawing at the Skowhegan School of Art. He continued drawing studies in the fall of that year in the teaching studio of Nicolas Carone on 14th Street and 6th Avenue in New York City. From 1964 to 1966, he was an assistant in the studio of Peter Agostini, where he helped that artist fabricate his abstractions in plaster while working toward his MFA in Painting at Columbia a degree which he received in 1967.

His honors include an award from the Ingram Merrill Foundation (1993), an Award of Merit from the Institute of Arts and Letters (2014), and election to membership in the National Academy of Design (2004).

Since 2003 the New York City gallery Lori Bookstein Fine Art has mounted five solo shows of his work. Since 2011, his art has also been exhibited at the John Davis Gallery in Hudson, New York, and Thomas the Space Gallery in Seoul, South Korea.

Recently, an interview with him was published in the Korean magazine Noblesse.

In addition to his studio work, Gagnier has been teaching part-time at the New York Studio School since 1986.