Leo Schimanszky

A big man who produces big works which exude strength and power, but simultaneously retain elegance of line and an incongruous intimacy, Leo Schimanszky is a sculptor of the first rank. Tenderness and power go hand in hand; worldliness and intense self centeredness go hand in hand; the natural and the supernatural go hand in hand.

This is a sculptor whose works breathe power yet reflect insights which flirt with and pierce intimacy.

This Austrian talent born in Vienna migrated to Canada after many years of travel and study in major European capitals. It was when he became intensely in tune with nature that he discovered that his goal was to explore the intimacies and riddles of nature and to share his maturing reverence for all things natural -- line, curve, movement, texture, form, color.

While continuing to work on paper and on canvas, Schimanszky was ineluctably drawn to the power of sculpture, to the lasting qualities inherent in bronze and stone and fiberglass.

With exhibitions in Toronto, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, and most recently at the prestigious Art Expo in New York, Leo Schimanszky's powerful works are awesome and, in some instances, retain a hint of hushed reverence which is mesmerizing and which continues to thrill the eye the longer it lingers.