Many extremely interesting news will be coming out of the gallery in the coming week.
The one we can break today is a huge and important one for us. Gallery Disneyana+ has for a long time wanted to enter the market for top-class sculptures and figurines and searched high and low for the right sculptor to help us realise these plans. It is therefore an immense pleasure to announce that we have entered into a collaboration with American sculptor Gary Pilla. The first sculpture project in our forthcoming limited-edition series will be kicked off shortly and be available at the gallery sometime in 2021 or early 2022. We are – of course – starting our series with a Donald Duck bust based on initial artwork by Carl Barks and perfected by Patrick Block. This image is already available as a beautiful signed and numbered print but with Gary’s help, we will transform this image into a strictly limited-edition of high-end bronze busts (planned to be the first of many). It also our plan to release this bust in another, slightly larger (but still very limited) edition in resin or another equivalent material so as to ensure that the collaborative efforts of Patrick Block and Gary Pilla can be enjoyed by as many fans and collectors as possible. In addition to the gallery-specific limited-edition series of busts, we will also be adding Gary to our line-up of artists in 2021 and thus be able to offer some of his original and immensely beautiful sculptures to fans all over the world.
Gary, a classically-trained artist has spent much of his career creating successful TV and content for some of the largest brands in the world; Nike, Apple, Microsoft, Xbox and NordicTrack but his one true love has always been Disney.
Gary grew up in awe of animation and Disney magic. “I can still remember the feeling I had when I watched Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for the first time” recalls Gary. “I cried watching a cartoon. A cartoon! And it’s not because I was a child, it’s because it’s so perfectly crafted that it made a connection that I’ve never been able to shake.”
Gary’s love for Disney animation and storytelling took him down the path of creating his own animated cartoon with lifelong friend Greg Scheetz, The Nine Lives of Claw. But no matter what success Gary has had it always comes back to Disney. Now he has poured his imagination and talent into sculpting Disney characters. “These characters have been a huge part of our lives.” continues Gary “I want to take the mastery that Disney’s original Nine Old Men and legends from Disney’s Renaissance period through today and bring them to life. They were the real masters and I want to create works that they would be proud of.” And it seems to be working as Gary has generated thousands of fans in a short period of time. “When I can look at one of my sculptures and they give me that same magical feeling I had as a child, I know I’ve nailed it. I’m very proud to be involved in this project celebrating the work of Carl Barks as imagined by Patrick Block.” Exclaims Pilla.
Welcome aboard, mr. Pilla! We look forward to our many amazing projects in 2021 and onwards.
