| Marty Goldstein |
Harvey Dogs:
At the sweet, tender age of two months (his mother assures us of this) Marty became infatuated with all manner of stuffed, furry creatures. Puppies with long ears or short ears, a riot of expressions, and puppies with soulful eyes, soon became his most treasured possessions.
Of course, as the early years went by, those funny stuffed animals were exchanged for a real live puppy who responded to his Master with unmitigated love and who made him laugh time and again as he went off to work for many years.
Then one day at the age of 62, Marty retired from the stressful corporate world. After taking numerous sculpting classes, he found himself eager to create a series of whimsical bronze "Harvey Dogs" which he enjoys sharing with anyone who loves animals or who simply delights in beginning each day with a smile or a chuckle. It's very difficult not to smile when you look at a "Harvey Dog!" In fact, Marty considers his day a successful one if at least one person has smiled while viewing his creation of Harvey Dogs!
Harvey Dogs Collection-works in Bronze from miniature to monumental. Harvey Dogs have found homes throughout the United States, Canada, in Europe and Asia in private, corporate and celebrity collections. They adorn sculpture gardens, are in permanent museum collections, grace the halls of the Roosevelt Collection, pediatric wards, and private tasting rooms in Napa Valley, to name but a few. In 2011, at 79 years young, Marty continues to sculpt and just recently created his first large scale Siamese Cat, Cecil, for POP Gallery in Santa Fe, NM.
(2009 Article)
A SCULPTOR'S WHIMSICAL WONDERS FILL GALLERIES
By Jeremy Foster, Staff Writer
Two bronze dogs perch on opposite ends of the porch at sculptor Marty Goldstein’s home in Solvang. Horace sits almost cross-legged, and wears a rueful stare, accented by dangling ears that curl at the ends. With his ears up, Humphrey looks happier, but impassive, with his beady eyes and a head that is almost all snout — a dead weight that makes him resemble a mix of dog and anteater.
Goldstein has fashioned more than 1,000 of these whimsical canines that would have made Charles M. Schulz proud — though the exaggerated features of the sculpted dogs far surpass the comical look of Snoopy.
“These dogs are the essence of innocence and beauty wrapped into one,” Goldstein explains. “Look at a whimsical dog, and for the moment you forget about the ills of the world, politics and other not-so-nice things.”
Goldstein also makes frogs, humans, horses and even dog-human hybrids, but the bulk of his work consists of dogs.
“I don’t want to make anything else,” he says, with an infectious smile and bushy eyebrows that spike in emphasis when he speaks. “And it works out, because it’s the dogs that sell.”
Goldstein, who moved to Solvang from Mammoth Lakes in 2000, says there’s nothing symbolic about his art. The sculptures, with their exaggerated bodies and postures, are crafted to evoke smiles. And they do just that at Renown Children’s Hospital in Reno, Nevada, which display 10 of his dogs in the children’s emergency room.
The bronze dogs help ease the stress of the young patients, said Phyllis Freyer, the hospital’s vice president, who saw Goldstein’s sculptures at a gallery years before the new pediatric ward was built.
“I said one of the first things I’m going to do is bring these wonderful bronze dogs into the hospital,” she says. “Kids have responded great. The dogs cheer them up while they’re waiting to get their medical care.”
Goldstein, 76, didn’t begin sculpting until about a decade ago, after retiring from a big pharmaceutical company where he did sales and medical research for 30 years.
The only sculpting he had done before retirement was carving a large bar of ivory soap as a 7-year-old Cub Scout. (“It was a little dog, of course.”)
Whether it was the stressful corporate world, as he calls it, or an innate desire to sculpt, Goldstein had told his wife on several occasions over the years to remind him that he should sculpt after retirement.
“I actually didn’t remember,” he concedes, grinning. “She told me I had to do something because the other guys, she was told, did nothing but hang around and get in the way of their wives.”
Barbara, a former teacher, helps Marty keep track of the books for the business. She’s also an avid artist in her own right, having done water-color painting for about seven years.
Goldstein took sculpting classes at a local art school in Palos Verdes. (“How can I put this delicately Â… after being dragged by my wife.”)
Soon, he had his first sculptures bronzed at a foundry in Oxnard, and then sold them at a regional gallery.
Goldstein began sculpting at a regular, piecemeal pace, and has now amassed his collection into a series of 115 bronzes, all limited editions.
Today, he shows his work exclusively in Santa Fe, NM at POP Gallery and is featured at the Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library, a sculpture Goldstein donated is on display, resembling the president’s Scottish little black terrier, Fala.
Goldstein also works on commission for those who want renditions of their dogs, which is the only time he molds a dog based on an image.
“When I start a piece, I just have very basic idea of what I want to do,” Goldstein explains. “I know what the size and position will be, but I don’t have a full understanding of the facial characteristics of the dog.”
Goldstein shrugs when pressed on what inspires him to create a specific sculpture.
“It’s just something that goes through my mind,” he replies.
Marty Goldstein bronze limited editions are available exclusively in Santa Fe, NM at POP Gallery. Contact us directly at 505.820.0788 to add a timeless piece of heirloom sculpture to your collection today.
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