ichard Stipl's sculptural work focuses on the infinite perfectibility of the human form, through its constant recreation and rebirth. Primarily executed in wax - "the shadow of life" - these grotesque self-portraits congregate on the wall in darkly humorous poses; depicted at 1/4 human scale, they possess a monumental character. Exquisitely rendered, these miniature clones of the artist are a stunning and sadistic study of the human form and its shockingly beautiful flaws. In his latest body of work, Stipl has broadened his focus, using different human and animal models, sculpted at an impressive 1/4 human scale. With his keen attention to detail, and his signature hyper-realistic style, these new works are a striking addition to Stipl's growing bestiary.

Richard Stipl was born in Czechoslovakia and now lives and works in the USA, Canada and the Czech Republic. He has been the recipient of numerous honors and grants, including Canada's prestigious Governor General's Award. Stipl has exhibited in Toronto, Montreal, New York, Miami, Berlin, Los Angeles, Madrid, Stuttgart, Mexico City and the Czech Republic.

Art Interview: I understand that you were born in Czechoslovakia: is that correct?

Richard Stipl: Yes.

Art Interview: When did you move to Canada?

Richard Stipl: When I was about 11. We escaped to Austria in 1979 and stayed in refugee camps there until we moved to Canada in 1980.

Art Interview: Did you fly into Toronto?

Richard Stipl: Yes, we flew into Toronto where we were sponsored by my father's school-mates who had escaped to Canada in 1968 [after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia]. So I grew up here and went to art school at the Ontario College of Art and Design from 1988 to 1992. Since then the Iron Curtain has fallen and I have been traveling back and forth between Toronto and the Czech Republic.

Art Interview: What was it like for you growing up in Toronto?

Richard Stipl The United Conspiracy Theory (detail) wax with oil paint 9 figures, each 6" x 5" x 7"

Art Interview: What did your parents do for a living?

Richard Stipl: My dad is an art conservator / art restorer. So I was sort of brought up with art because he and my grandfather were avid collectors of art and antiques. From an early age in Czechoslovakia I was surrounded by art. My mother is also an art conservator but she earns part of her living as an accountant.

Art Interview: Was your grandfather an antiquarian?

Richard Stipl: Yes, he used to wheel and deal in artifacts and he was also a painter. So he and my father taught me the rudiments of painting and taught me how to look at art.

Art Interview: So you would say that you had a direct influence from your family.?

Richard Stipl: Absolutely, that was there from day one. My choice of a career was almost predetermined. It was something I actually decided on at a latter date but the influence was so strong that I could hardly do anything other than become an artist.

Art Interview: Did your family give you emotional or financial support to become an artist?

Richard Stipl: Absolutely. They encouraged me at a very early age. I was drawing with my mother by the time I was 3 or 4. She was also quite artistic. Later on when I went to college they supported me through all 4 years of my studies. So that was great.

Art Interview: Were they aware of how the art business works for an artist as far as how to make connections and which shows to exhibit in?

Richard Stipl: Not really, economically they belonged to the lower middle class so there was no real way for them to connect to the proper places. They just gave me the support to be able to go out and do that myself. They made it plain to me that the path that I chose to take would be a difficult one and it has proven to be so. But that was about all that they could give me at that time.

Art Interview: Why did you choose the school that you went to?

Richard Stipl Gabriel's Shield 2004 Microcrystalline wax and pigment on plywood 37" x 37"

Art Interview: Did you have to work while you attended art school or were you able to concentrate solely on your portfolio?

Richard Stipl: During the first years I was working as a bus boy in restaurants. My parents paid for my tuition but everything else I had to cover on my own. In later years I was an apprentice to a master printer in a lithograph studio. During the summers I would work with my dad in his restoration business, which allowed me to work in something related to my field and actually taught me something.

Art Interview: Was it your intention to become a professional fine artist while you were attending art school?

Richard Stipl: Absolutely. There was no question about that. I just wanted to get done with school and get out there. In my senior year I received the highest award the school granted. I studied painting at school and there wasn't anybody in the drawing and painting department who had graduated with that award in the previous 15 years. So it was a bit of a shock to everybody at the time.

Art Interview: What were you painting at that time?

Richard Stipl: It was figurative, representational. I studied classical painting but I tried to reinterpret it in contemporary terms.

Art Interview: How did you do that?

Richard Stipl: By not concentrating just on painting but also on incorporating a lot of object making into the work.

Art Interview: Were there professors who influenced you?

Art Interview: After graduating how did you begin your art career?

Richard Stipl: A commercial gallery in Toronto picked me up right away. The galleries here come to the Open House show put on by the school where the past year's art works are presented.

Art Interview: Is this the same gallery that you are in with now?

Richard Stipl: No. I started with Lake Galleries, which no longer exists, but at the time they were showing quite a bit of contemporary national and international art. I had one show with them. The scene in Canada in the 90s was not very exciting. There were nowhere near the number of galleries that are around now. There was not much going on, so I decided to leave. I went travelling for a year and put my art career on hold. I traveled extensively in Europe, Turkey and Northern Africa. In 1993 I ended up back in the Czech Republic in the town where I was born and became involved with a group of local artists and curators who were putting on pleinair painting festivals. During the process we discovered an abandoned monastery in the center of town and we decided to do an international installation symposium. So I spent the next year developing that project. We invited 30 artists from around the world and had them work in the monastery for a month. The final exhibition was accompanied by a catalog and so on.

Art Interview: How did you make you contact with those people?

Richard Stipl: Well, I just went back to my hometown and it is a small place of about 15,000 people. So sooner or later you hit upon those people and I became involved with them.

Richard Stipl A Futile Attempt to Know Oneself III wax, oil paint, metal brackets 19.69" x 30.31" x 12.01"

Richard Stipl: Ever since I graduated in 1992.

Art Interview: How long have you been self-sufficient from your art?

Richard Stipl: Since I graduated. I've been lucky that way.

Art Interview: Did you have to incorporate yourself as a company?

Richard Stipl: Yes, I did. I still manage things by myself. But the galleries help out by keeping track of what the prices are, what is where and what has been sold, so I have an idea what the situation is at all times.

Art Interview: Have you had any difficult periods surviving as an artist?

Richard Stipl: That is difficult to say. It has been up and down. I have to say it was a struggle when I graduated and the scene here wasn't that great. Then when I was traveling around in the early to mid- nineties I didn't get to fully devote myself to my art. I was also busy working together with other people on projects like the monastery symposium. It's definitely been hard. Especially in 2000 when I realized that my painting wasn't taking me where I wanted to go and I knew that I would have to make a move and a change. Luckily, there was sculpture that I could turn to and it took off.

Art Interview: Have you competed for any awards?

Art Interview: When you began with the Lake Galleries in 1992 how did you come to an agreement on your prices? And how have your prices changed over the past decade?

Richard Stipl: Well, the prices have risen gradually. There wasn't a dramatic jump until the last few years because I have been working on very labor-intensive pieces. But the price change is only reflective of the amount of work involved. My prices have not really skyrocketed.

Art Interview: How did you decide on your prices?

Richard Stipl: My gallery and I had to find prices that we were both comfortable with. We considered of course my age, the time I had been out of school, how big the pieces are and how long it takes to do them. We came to a mutual agreement on this basis.

Art Interview: What are your current prices?

Richard Stipl

Art Interview: What is the percentage you share with your gallery?

Richard Stipl: 50/50. That's pretty much standard no matter where you go.

Art Interview: How long have you been with your present gallery?

Richard Stipl: I have been with my Toronto gallery since 1997.

Art Interview: How did you meet the art dealer?

Richard Stipl: Well, after I came back permanently from the Czech Republic in 1996 I invited them to come to a show I was having and they said they would like to work with me. They gave me their schedule and tried me out in a few group shows and I took off from there.

Art Interview: How many galleries have you worked with?

Richard Stipl: I started with Lake Galleries in Toronto and after they closed I went to my current gallery, which is the Christopher Cutts Gallery. After 2001 I started showing with the New York dealer Daniel Silverstein, who closed after a couple of years. This summer I started showing with another New York dealer named Clare Oliver. Most recently I've started working with a Mexican Gallery, Galería Enrique Guerrero out of Mexico City. Other than that I've just done a few art fairs with different galleries.

Art Interview: How did you begin showing internationally?

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This oral history transcript is the result of a tape-recorded interview with Richard Stipl on September 23, 2005. The interview took place over the telephone between Berlin, Germany, and Toronto, Canada and was conducted by Brendan Davis for Art Interview Online Magazine.