Candles of the Fey

Upon first encountering the collaborative creations of Colin and Kristine Poole, one almost believes that they’ve stepped into a reality where such creatures might actually exist. Colin and Kristine’s newest series, “Chimera”, debuted at GVG Gallery on Canyon Road and is currently being shown in their private exhibition space on the north ridge of Santa Fe. Their life-sized ceramic sculptures seamlessly blend human and animal forms into surprisingly believable creatures. Each figure is based on a particular world myth but also tells its own story through the viewer’s imagination. Their sensitive sculptural approach to the figure combined with an innate awareness of animal attitude enables them to illuminate the relationship between human and animal expression, spirit and emotions.

Colin has had an enduring love and fascination for mythology since early childhood, having been introduced to the Greek mythological pantheon as a child while learning from and working in the studio of his mentor, Christosomos Chakos – one of the living masters of Greek Icon Painting at the time. Colin shared his love of mythological stories with Kristine and together, they have broadened their influences to include myths from cultures around the globe. They use the retelling of world myths as inspiration for viewers to revisit the wonder and fascination of storytelling and to emphasize the unity of our cultural roots – how people have, since ancient history, told stories of human and animal attributes combining with magical results.

They are often asked to describe their unique working methodology. Colin says, “It really is a complete collaboration from the beginning all the way through the process. There isn’t any part that we don’t both have our hands in, both literally and figuratively.” They begin by selecting the pose together and contemplating which myth they’d like to work with. Kristine then starts the process of sculpting the human portion of the figure. Once the figure is mostly complete, they discuss the feeling and energy it has and what animal would best embody similar emotions to complete the gesture of the body and Colin sculpts the creature’s head. Once head and body have been joined, Colin adds the surface texture to unite the two parts completely. Kristine adds, “Part of what is unique about how we work is that we both bring specialized backgrounds to the table – my extensive background in ceramic sculpture and anatomical study is the perfect complement to Colin’s 25 years of experience as a professional painter and sculptor. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States and Europe and his corporate client list reads as a “who’s who” of Fortune 500 companies.”

Colin and Kristine both came to Santa Fe at approximately the same time almost 20 years ago but their paths did not cross until 2008 when he asked her to dance a Tango. They were married in Greece the following summer and began combining their artistic talents the same year.