José De Creeft (aka Jose Mariano DeCreeft)

Guadalajara, Spain 1884—1982 New York, NY

"Jose Mariano De Creeft (1884-1982) was born in Guadalajara, Spain and lived for many years in New YorkCity. De Creeft was a sculptor who worked with stone, wood and marble, and he was one of the first sculptors to revive the process of direct carving. He was an educator as well, and instructed at Black Mountain College and the New School.
He was influenced by primitive art, and as a youth he was exposed to an exhibition of Eskimo sculptures, of which the simplicity and power of the carvings resonated with him. As well as his sculptures, De Creeft produced drawings, paintings and worked with assemblages of found objects.
Participating in the entire process of sculpting was paramount to De Creeft, and he would often make his own tools for their specificity and exactitude. De Creeft states that, “From my earliest youth I have always found pleasure in giving life to old objects that have lost their usefulness…..to deliver them from obscurity [ like a rock] and transform them into objects of art.”" [Source: unknown and currently being researched]