bio Born in 1968 in San Francisco CA, Joël Urruty is a sculptor working primarily in wood, creating abstract sculptures and wall assemblages. After graduating with a BS in Design from San Francisco State University, he went on to earn an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology with an emphasis in woodworking. Joëlʼs sculptures have been exhibited internationally. He has work in the permanent collection of the Asheville Art Museum and the Boston Museum of Fine Art, Honolulu Museum of Art. Joël lives and works in western North Carolina. ARTIST STATEMENT: As an artist I strive to create elegant sculptures that capture the true essence of the subject matter. Form, line and surface are used as the visual language. The figure is abstracted to a minimalist form, void of any superfluous information. The primary material, wood, is often masked by paint to allow the form to take precedence over the material. Monochromatic colors, such as, black or white are often used on the sculptures allowing light and shadow to play off the subtle shifting facets of the sculptures. This is what I do. Why I do it, I don’t really know. I do know that there is something deep inside that drives me to make these things. Things I don’t completely understand myself. But when a piece is finished and it feels right, I know I have done what it was I was suppose to do and move on to the next.