Finding any one sculpture to be typical of Wolf’s style isn’t likely
but you will see influences by Calder, Homer, Rodin, Michelangelo
and Magritte. Darwin uses a variety of subject matter
drawn from many interests and using many materials.
He openly admits to “sculpting for fun” and will jump from
realistic portrayal to conceptual expression, from stop
action bronze to a quick exercise in perspective.
As a result he is an extremely versatile artist who can
satisfy a wide variety of criteria for commissions and public
art. He leans strongly toward art for the common man
and doesn’t believe an art degree should be necessary to
enjoy it.
Wolf began sculpting in 1979 at Northern State University where he cast bronze for
the first time and was hooked. The romantic idea of creating something
from nothing in a material that would survive for generations, along
with the excitement and rush of pouring molten bronze, were too much to
resist. “There aren’t that many people in the world who can do what I
do. Canvas will burn but it takes over twelve hundred degrees to melt
bronze. I want to leave things behind that my great-grandkids will
see.”
He worked his way through school as a foundry man casting
bronze reproductions for art agencies in Chicago, Landfall
Press and Lakeside Editions. Through these contracts
Darwin cast the bronze sculptures of prominent artists
John Burke, L. J. Dill and Richard Hunt. This foundry
work received recognition in the Summer 1982 issue of
“Art in America”. Two summers of Korczak Ziolkowski
at Crazy Horse Mountain and numerous technical foundry
experiments at the university pushed Wolf to be more competent
and daring with his own sculpture.
It was his intensive study of the Italian Renaissance that brought him back to his
faith. Almost all of the art of that period was either commissioned by
the Church or inspired by scripture so he couldn’t ignore what he was
trying to rebel against. It was also impressed upon him that art and
spirituality are similar in that they convey “otherness”, something
other than what is tangible. As it turned out, his work with Christian
themes has been the most successful even in secular competitions during
times when it wasn’t yet trendy to acknowledge Jesus at the drop of a
hat.
By the time Wolf earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Art in 1983 he was
conducting workshops in advanced bronze foundry technique. Every step
in the production of his sculptures has been done by his own hand.
Advances in mold making, ceramic shell and the lost wax method in
general ensure quality metal in each casting. Attention to detail does
not become a futile effort; ceramic shell captures every detail right
down to the artist’s thumbprints.
Wolf’s sculpture has been exhibited through out the Midwest and in national
competitions on the east coast including several in New York. He has
been featured in documentaries and articles with several sculptures
receiving national critical success. After a ten-year absence, he was
awarded two major commissions within the first six months of his return
to a full time career in sculpture.
