Steven Dickey was born in the isolation of Northern Minnesota and grew up along the west coast of Central Florida.
B.A. in Chemistry and Psychology from U.S.F. in Tampa Fl.
B.A. in Fine Art from the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fl. – 1981
After graduation I spent several years working at a bronze casting foundry and then for a marble company. I began my sculpting career with wildlife but then, in the mid 80’s, developed a series of abstracted musical instruments…first in stone, then bronze and now in wood and steel. I had an early background in music so this series is more personal to me. With this series I am blending the more feminine curvilinear forms of the instrument with it’s more masculine strait edges to create an organic and sensual expression of the moods and sounds of that instrument.
In 1984 and 1985 I was invited to and participated in the Johnston Sculpture Competition for emerging figurative artists in Washington, DC. This involved a select small group of figure sculptors from across the country.
After several years of outdoor art shows and a variety of gallery showings, I started receiving commissions for figurative pieces and have been working steadily on large life size bronze figurative commissions over the past 35 years. These include commissions for the 4 figured “Immigrant Statue” in Ybor city and the twice life size portrait of “Martin Luther King Jr.” in West Palm Beach as well as the “Dolphin Fountain” on Sarasota bay and the more recent figures of “Dave Andreychuk” holding up the Stanley Cup for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the 30 bronze portraits along the Tampa Riverwalk of individuals that have had the greatest historical influence on the development of the Tampa bay area.
I have recently moved my studio from downtown Tampa to a much quieter, wooded area on the Suwannee river. With the solitude, I am now refocusing on my musical series and able to also start reacting to more current events.
My early inspirations came from the masters while I was still in art school. Later… the artists I new and worked with had expressive energies that pushed me to create beyond my past. Now, in this wood, inspiration flows from the life that surrounds me. Perhaps I have enough empathy to listen.
