"My sculpture is the result of working and experimenting with various materials and methods of carving. Seventeen years of cabinetry and wood sculpture evolved into stone carving which I have been doing for the past twenty-five years. I work with the natural texture and color of the stone to create a representative sculpture of animals, human forms, and abstract shapes." ABOUT Gert is one of the original Joyce Petter Gallery Artists! Gert Olsen was born and educated in Denmark. He immigrated to Canada in 1956, then to the United States in 1962 where he gained citizenship. Olsen has been a resident of Florida since 1984. He started his art career as a woodcarver which expanded to church carving. In the ’70s a visit to Pietra Santa Italy started his fascination with Carrara Marble. This new love of the marble prompted a transition to stone carving which led to over 40 years of hand-selecting marble from quarries in Europe and throughout the United States for his whimsical sculptures. These hand-selected stone blocks are initially cut and shaped with modern saws and cutters, then further shaped with traditional carving chisels, both pneumatic and manual. The process continues with sanding, using many grades of sandpaper, and culminates in fine polishing. He has work in numerous private and corporate collections. Olsen has shown his work all over the United States at major art shows and has had work shown in galleries in New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Illinois, and Florida. His work is in art collections in England, Switzerland, France, Germany, Japan, and his native Denmark.His works can be found locally in Wicks Park in Downtown Saugatuck and if you find yourself in Naples Florida, you can see a larger-than-life bear family at the Naples Bear Museum, Naples, Florida. Gert Olsen is a member of the International Sculpture Center, Washington, D.C., and has received numerous awards at fine art shows.