Dan Statler
About The Artist:
Dan Statler’s parents met at the Jantzen Beach Speedway in Portland, Oregon where his father raced the #13 car, a late model Dodge in black and white paint. One of his earliest memories are of his father’s feet sticking out from under the #13 covered in a shower of sparks. “He’d get home from work and go straight to the garage to get the car in shape for the race on Sunday. He was always welding because he crashed it a lot.”
After studying photography at East Texas State University, Dan moved to Southern California where he began working in movies and television. Dan has worked for more than 15 years in the entertainment industry in the camera, art and special effects departments. It was while working in special effects that he got interested in working with metal. “After we destroyed the set, all that was left was the steel we’d built to hold the miniatures and air cannons. The framework looked like giant steel sculptures. “ Dan became the Production Designer for “Monster Garage” when it began in 2002 until the show’s conclusion in 2006. “Basically, what that meant was that I got to use all the tools in the garage when no one was around and make a lot of really cool stuff for the set. One of the things I did for the show was plasma cut designs on 4′ x 8′ metal panels that were hung on the walls. For every new show I tried to create a different panel that related to the car being built.”
The more than 50 metal sculptures and furniture that he created as the Production Designer of Monster Garage were showcased in 80 episodes over a four-year period on the Discovery Channel.
In June 2003, Dan and his wife Vivian founded Vulture Kulture, a company dedicated to the creation of metal artwork, photography and design. Vulture Kulture is currently working on a merchandising line based on Dan’s artwork and designs. In August 2004, Hot Rod magazine named him “Artist of the Month”, described his artwork as “plasma-cutting alchemy”, and featured his most popular Monster Garage panel, “Two Tone”, a 54 Chevy surrounded in flames.
That same year Dan was commissioned by Original Productions, the production company responsible for TV hit shows Monster Garage, Monster House, Motorcycle Mania, Biker Build-Off, Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers, and Axe Men, among others, to create a type of room-sculpture that is the reception area for their headquarters in Burbank, CA. Although finished with the room, Dan continues to add to it by producing the 8 feet tall TV show themed sculptures commissioned by Original for their newest hit shows.
In 2007, Koyo Cooling Systems (Koyorad), a Japanese radiator company, approached Dan with the idea of creating a corporate sculpture for their new building in Irving, CA, which would be automotive themed and would show their product. This resulted in a retro-futuristic racecar steel sculpture mounted 15 feet up the front wall inside the Koyo Building. In 2008, Dan created a three dimensional corporate sculpture for Wilden Pump & Engineering.
Since 2003, Dan Statler’s metal artwork has been displayed at different galleries in Southern California. In 2008, Dan was invited by Les Barany to participate in the “Carnivora: The Dark Art of Automobiles” at L’Imagerie Gallery in Los Angeles.
Dan’s artwork has been featured in several magazines, including: Rolling Stone, Popular Mechanics, Entertainment Weekly, Rod & Custom, Hot Rod, Rumble, Import Racer, etc. His work has also been featured in music videos, TV shows, as well as in many feature films.
Currently Dan is indulging in his different passions, including, photography, literature, film, music, and design.
Categories:
Hot Rod/Custom Car (Sculpture)
Websites:
https://vulturekulture.com
https://www.zazzle.com/store/vulture_kulture
