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James Surls

James Surls (American, b. 1943)
Me and She Looking, c. 2000
Aspen, ash, cherry, and steel 
Westmont Acquisition 

Surls was born and raised in Texas, but currently lives and works in Colorado, and like his unconventional art works, he has shunned the commercial art world in favor of promoting his works on his own website and through open studio gatherings where he sells his works. A skilled craftsperson, Surls carves the wood in his sculptures himself and does most of the sculpting and welding of steel rods on his own. There is something very primal about Surls’ sculpture. It is a cross between natural or earthy things (like different kinds of wood) and unseen worlds that Surls connects to through his universal lexicon of symbols. In this work, a spiny flower is a stand-in for women, and the knife represents a man. These opposites are connected by diamond shapes and a profile of a human face. Diamonds are a common symbol for clarity and understanding that transcend human consciousness. The face is essential to human identity and our ability to express emotions. Me and She Looking addresses the most basic of human relationships––that between a man and a woman.

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