Sculpture

Currently, Michael Van Hout has sculpted, painted metal fish and a sculpture, “The Garden Muse,” at Art in Bloom Gallery. In addition, Michael is working on commissioned art. If you wish to request commissioned art from Michael, contact him at vanhoutm@bellsouth.net.

Michael Van Hout started creating professional art over thirty-years ago after studying Forestry at NC State University and graduating with a BSA degree in sculpture from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1980.

His large installations of animals made of wire, copper, and other metals are in Airlie Gardens, The NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher, and Greenfield Lake Park in Wilmington, NC.  In addition to wire and metal sculpture, Michael creates wood sculpture, woodcut prints, mixed media, mobiles, paintings, and various commissioned pieces located in museums and in private and public spaces.

In 2004, Michael was a part of a team of seven artists, each of whom created their own sculptures for the Airlie Gardens Bottle Chapel, a tribute to renowned artist, Minnie Evans.  In addition to Michael, the Bottle-Chapel group included his sister, Brooks Koff; Virginia Wright-Frierson; Karen Crouch; Dumay Gorham; Hiroshi Sueyoshi; and guest artist Tejuola Turner.

Michael’s work has also created galimotos, dynamic wire sculpture with wheels that turn.  In 2016-17, he completed a 3-dimensional metal sign for Foxes Boxes Restaurant at 622 N. Fourth Street and art for a historic shirt factory recently converted into apartments.   The art includes wire sculpture in a pocket garden and a mural covering the entire wall of the entrance to South Front Apartments, 1510 S. Third Street in Wilmington, NC.

Michael’s studio is at Acme Art Studios, 711 N. Fifth Avenue, where he continues to collaborate with other artists and to encourage people of all ages to use their creativity.  He currently lives in Wilmington, NC with his wife, Marlisa, a mental health therapist.

Having studied at UNC Chapel Hill, Gale considers painting as an ongoing study. Recently, she studied with Robert Longley at the Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown, MA and also with Lois Griffel, the former director of the Cape Cod School of Art. The school is based upon the impressionistic teachings of Charles Hawthorne and Henry Hensche who were influenced by Monet and his observation of the ever changing effects of light on nature. She has also attended workshops with nationally acclaimed artists such as John Poon, Charles Reid, Morgan Samuel Price, Rick McClure and other fine instructors.

Gale has found a new interest in working with copper.  As a plein air painter, she began using copper panels as her canvas and loved how the copper made her colors warm and vibrant.

She experimented with different gauges of copper and mediums and discovered that inks and oils on copper made colors radiate vibrantly. Never quite sure where the colors and copper will take her, Gale paints, cuts and weaves two abstract paintings together to create a dimensional piece of art.  The soft gentle curves that she cuts into the copper, allows her to form the piece into soothing and thought provoking structural designs.  It is her desire that the viewer will experience a personal interaction with her art. Often, she writes small quotes, prayers or poems that relate to the piece of work on the back of the copper strips and weaves them into the design.  Gale donates a portion of the proceeds from her sales to various organizations and charities.

Gale is an award winning artist with her works exhibited in galleries, private collections and corporate installations.

Currently, Dumay Gorham, III is working on commissioned art. If you wish to request commissioned art from Dumay, contact him at dumay@mail.dumaygorham.com or 910-612-1723.  As soon as we have more art by Dumay, the art will be posted to our Art in Bloom Gallery website.

A native of Wilmington, NC, Dumay Gorham, III, is an independent artist and specializes in custom metal designs and fabrication and works in copper, brass, steel, and stainless steel as well as fiberglass and urethanes.

In addition to being shown in local art shows, Gorham’s metal sculptures appear in businesses throughout the Wilmington area. He completed wall installation versions of business logos for Copy Cat Print Shop and Ford Design Co. He has also completed commissioned sculptures for The North Carolina Aquarium in Ft. Fisher, The New Hanover County Arboretum, The UNC-W Center for Marine Science, The City of Wilmington, N.C., and many private homes and gardens throughout the area.
Dumay has also designed and built metal furniture for The Blockade Runner Hotel and Resort in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. and Jeff Gordon Chevrolet in Wilmington, N.C.