About

Michaels works are born from his inherent love and passion for nature, not only Wild life but the ancient peoples and cultures that came before him. From an early age he was exposed to the outdoors, in particular the African-bush. Growing up on the doorstep of the World Famous Kruger National Park, This is where his passion for Africa and its extremes grew even stronger. After matriculating he finished a series of diplomas in Wild Life Management and game capture, as well as a degree in Nature Conservation. His passion for art however led him in a totally new direction. In 1998 he started an apprenticeship in an Art Foundry and began his journey discovering the alchemy of bronze. A course on the patination of silicon bronze also followed by arguably the top patineur in the U.S.A. Patrick Kipper and a bronze castingcourseby Dick Pollock Tallip Foundry in New York. In 2000 he started his own casting foundry, Bronze Art Africa formally known as The Loop Art Foundry, which has grown to become one of South Africa's largest and most respected Art Foundries casting for some of South Africa's top sculptors under his management. Thousands of bronze sculptures have been forged at The Foundry from thumb size to some of the most noted monuments in Africa. Michael is a self taught artist. Personally he started work on his own sculpture, building up a significant body of work. His work has been shown internationally by the top galleries in Maputo, Mozambique, Kulumgwana and the Alliance France, Fine art bronze collectors from the U.S.A, U.K, Netherlands, Denmark, Russia, Mozambique, Singapore. The United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Canada and South Africa. He has also received numerous commissions from private collectors as well as Corporate companies and organizations including The Kruger National Park and Extrata Platinum Mines. All these Commissions were for life size sculptures, including Sable Antelope, Eland, and various life size birds of prey. Michael has also taken part in numerous exhibitions both nationally and internationally. ARTIST STATEMENT "Within every new piece I trace my own evolution and learning processes, as I try to capture the specific essence and moment in time in the life of my subject. I try to retain the beginning strokes and gestures of each sculpture, because that to me contains the excitement and truth of the creative process. MICHAEL CANADAS”