Vanessa Hoheb

Vanessa Hoheb is creating an archive of bronze life hand castings working in participation with many of America’s most venerated visual artists. The Project mission is to assemble an ongoing archive of superbly crafted bronze hand casts.

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In her capacity as a technical advisor, Vanessa Hoheb has had the privilege of working closely with a long list of extraordinary and influential artists on milestone sculptures.

A fascination with the hands of skilled craftsmen extends four decades back to an apprenticeship with her father, sculptor Bruce Hoheb. Ms. Hoheb’s expertise has provided a unique opportunity to be witness to the act of artmaking, up close. Each artist, in their own way, approaches aesthetic challenges through the most basic manipulation of materials with gifted hands. As agents of creativity, these hands bear the marks of use that are inextricably tied to important contributions to contemporary American art.

The American Artists’ Hand Archive endeavors to document artists’ hands with the goal of establishing an archive for exhibition.

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The historic tradition of casting from life provides a springboard for this effort to celebrate the participants’ accomplishments. The casts transcend a simple physiological record.

The Project interviews each artist while they determine the gesture, context and patina that most accurately convey a relationship to their hands and their work. The results of the interviews contribute to the appreciation of these living national treasures.