TODD WARNER


Todd Warner was born in 1945 in Fort Worth, Texas. He was raised, however, in rural Central Michigan. He studied art at Central Michigan University and Ferris State College in Michigan. He began his professional career in art in 1967.

Using warmth and humor, sculptor Todd Warner is trying to bridge the gap between man and animals. His unconventional clay sculptures from bears to brahmas and from donkeys to ducks, breathe life into their dormant surroundings. “When people stop and look at my animals, they usually mile,” Warner says happily.

Warner’s lifelong love affair with animals has resulted in the artist becoming internationally known as an animal sculptor. He successfully mixes art with environment; creativity with zoology; zen with childlike energy. Warner’s whimsical, colorful, over-sized critters are stunning. Their faces look as sweet and innocent as a baby’s.

Warner’s offbeat sense of humor, coupled with a fearless love of wildlife and endangered species has resulted in hundreds of freestanding sculptures that look incredibly real. The loving expressions on their faces would appeal to the most misanthropic.

Birch cabinetry wood, clay and steel are the materials Warner uses to create the members of his fascinating animal farm. The wood bodies of the sculptures are less than an inch thick and cut to look like the silhouettes of the animals they portray. The legs are steel reinforced; feet are made from a. sculptable epoxy. The heads, sculpted in clay, are fired at 2400 degrees Fahrenheit and talk back to Warner who feels comfortable when the face has feeling in it. He does the nostrils first so he knows the animal can breathe.

His tall, flat and skinny creatures are a metaphor of the state of the environment where animals are being pushed aside for technology. This is anathema to Warner, a practical environmentalist who pokes fun at everything that troubles him. It is important for Warner to surround himself with animals because at the great Indian Chief Seattle once said, “If all the beasts were gone, man would die from loneliness of spirit; for whatever happens to the beast, happens to the man.”

Warner, an award-winning sculptor, is a master at creating sophisticated whimsy. His hundreds of animal sculptures have been featured in galleries around the world, including 26 one-man shows. The Orlando International Airport has more than 45 of Warner’s animal sculptures such as manatees, egrets and armadillos to help parkers find their cars in the garage. He is currently working on more sculptures for the busy airport’s Arrivals Terminal. He has completed three out of a series of six large whimsical installations for the food concessions on the busy New York Thruway.



New River Fine Art
914 East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
(954) 524-2100