Michael Keropian
Biography
Michael Keropian began his professional career and training as a sculptor at the oldest art school in the country, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1978.
To further his training in sculpture he moved to New York's Hudson Valley in 1986 and worked for ten years at the Tallix Sculpture Foundry in Beacon, New York.
He worked on hundreds of sculptures during this period and learned the many technical skills that go into casting a sculpture into metal. During this period he created Keropian Sculpture LLC and worked after hours to develop his business. Keropian Sculpture LLC aside from producing his own work, provides sculptural services and consulting to a variety of clientele.
After leaving the Tallix Foundry in 1996, he continued building Keropian Sculpture LLC and started teaching at a number of schools in the New York Metro area, such as the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in NY City and Artlife Studio in Portchester, NY.
Keropian Sculpture has also completed sculpture restorations for a number of private estates, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, National Academy of Design and Fairfield University's Bellarmine Museum.
In 2000, Michael received a commission to create nine heroic-size tigers for the new baseball stadium of the Detroit Tigers, Comerica Park.
Since the turn of the century Michael has been commissioned to create a variety of sculpture commissions, some of these are listed below.
Memorial bronze plaques for the Mayor of Brewster, NY John Cesar, Daniel Nimham and Edith G. Read. Historic portraits of John Cesar, Edgard Varese, Vic Morrow and Louis Armstrong. Full figures of Frank Zappa, Vic Morrow as Sgt. Saunders, Dr. Albert Simone President of Rochester Institute of Technology. Presently working on two memorial plaques of radio personality Bob Steele, Mt. Rushmore Chief Carver Luigi Del Bianco, and a life size figure of race car driver and inventor John Cooper Fitch.
He has won numerous awards throughout the years and his sculptures can be found in private collections around the world. Michael is a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society, and is the Sculpture Chairperson for the Hudson Valley Art Association.
Artist Statement
My portraits of individuals, busts and full figures are focused toward gathering an accurate structural likeness, and the inspirational essence, grace and spirit of the individual. This is far more important to me than just creating a 3 d photocopy of the person.
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