This catalogue celebrates and records the first fifteen years of my sculpture journey. The journey has been strewn with hard work, the help of so many, and the reward of meeting and experiencing new people and places. I hope to mark these events and sculptures here.

My efforts are to speak to all generations, and create conversation between symbols and shapes. Elements of my work mirror familiar imagery. This imagery is inspired by both the natural world, and universal principles of design. The assembled work is representational and abstract and creates sculpture that walks the tightrope of both (schools) worlds. Rhythms of wood grain combined with stiff edged steel become for me, homage to the rhythms of the world around us. Each hammer blow persuades the flat hard steel from its machine rolled shell and returns it to the hills and pastures from which it came.

The following reflections have made me proud to be a sculptor, and the feelings expressed are never far from my thoughts when making conceptual and technical decisions.
The first reaction came when I started showing sculptures in public places. I had installed a piece in a little green circle near a school in Concord Massachusetts. I hoped this large hunk of sharp edged steel looked enough like a cow that people would not laugh. Apparently it was convincing enough for a little boy to come out and feed it some grass. This kind of response has kept me going.

The second review was a little more traditional. Following a recent opening, Zane Fisher of the Santa Fe Reporter, (after being quite critical of the other works) wrote “A steel and cedar bear Tashtego by James Burnes is an intuitive and fluid conversation between material and sculptor – each line, each curve, each mark a poetry that would make Melville gurgle saltwater with briny glee.” How could I not keep that in mind while pounding away on a sheet of steel trying to make it soft and life-like?

The third response I always keep in mind was given to me spontaneously on a cross-country delivery trip. I was at a gas station in the middle of nowhere when a local guy came up and pointed at the bull on my trailer and said, “Is that one of them cow cut-outs you put in your yard?” Thinking I had striven for slightly loftier goals, I looked up sheepishly and responded, “I guess so?” To that he spat on the ground and replied, “My sister loves that shit..." We both laughed.
I am humbled by, and proud of my profession. The work and I have evolved. People’s reaction and interaction with the work is diverse and unique, as diverse and unique as the people themselves. I express my deepest thanks to all of you for the opportunity to create. I would like to offer my gratitude to my patrons, to the public parks and community spaces in which my works reside, and to the viewers who engage and react to the layers of material and meaning in each piece. Every contribution is a cornerstone to the foundation of this collection, and work to follow. Thank you.

James Burnes, 2010