Joshua Tobey's Biography

Sculptor Joshua Tobey’s animals and birds may be stretching, scratching, soaring, sleeping, curled in a ball, wrestling a salmon, or poised to pounce. Only an artist for whom the outdoors is a second home could capture these poses in bronze with such clarity, sympathy and humor.

Walking among the more than 40 editions created by this 29 year old sculptor at The Gallery at 822 Canyon Road, we feel privileged for the opportunity to see wildlife as few of us will ever experience it.

Each piece is brought to life through a slight stylization of classic form and colorful, contemporary patinas. Some bronzes wear Tobey’s distinctive patina blend flowing from dappled silver into black-threaded golden hues.

Bronzes range in size from a 2.5 inch “Worry Stone Bear” to a life size bugling elk “Heart of the Mountain.” Occasional fusions of man and animal reveal the sculptor’s wish to express his own personal relationship to the natural world.

Tobey’s path to becoming a sculptor cannot be separated from being raised in a family of artists. He grew up in Tesuque, New Mexico, outside Santa Fe, with renowned ceramic and bronze sculptors Gene and Rebecca Tobey. His formative years were spent surrounded by sculpture and painting in a world of artistic camaraderie at foundries, studios, galleries, and sculpture installations.

Tobey went to Western State College in Colorado without plans to become an artist. By the time he graduated in 2000 he had majored in sculpture and realized that, although never pressured, his journey was forecast long ago. He apprenticed with his father and step-mother and assisted them on major monuments and commissions prior to exhibiting his own work.

In his father’s memory, Tobey says “I dedicate all my work to him. He was my mentor.” While his work reveals the debt he owes his parent/mentors, today we recognize Tobey’s own style, skills and personal direction.

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