Harold Balazs

"With Harold, I witnessed the loving shaping of material as integral to the idea. The closer the material was to the hand, the more meaningful became the shaping."- From the Foreword by Tom KundigDefining the art of Harold Balazs isn't easy. Encompassing prints, sculpture, architecture, jewelry, and installations, his work crosses boundaries and changes shape with a force that has arrested viewers since the 1950s. His art is a full-blown manifestation of his vision in diverse media and scale. Balazs summed up his art and his approach best when he said, "I make stuff because it's easier than not making stuff."No other Northwest artist has cut quite as wide a swath through the regional culture over the past fifty years as Balazs, who has been called the people's artist of the Northwest. His free spirit, boundless energy, and meticulous eye for detail have shaped the region's art. Balazs's work can be found in public and private collections from Spokane to Seattle, and he has been called the most important liturgical artist in the nation. His fine skills as a teacher can be seen in the work of many of his students, now artists and architects themselves. The voices of a dozen of these former students as well as admirers and friends are found in this book, the first publication to honor Balazs's extraordinary gifts. His career is captured here in remarkable candor that speaks to the artist's humanity, humor, and love of life.