COURTESY
PUTNEY — The sculptures of Putney artist Art Costa will be on display during February and March at Putney Public Library.
Costa started building toys and tree houses from found materials as a boy on his family’s California dairy farm in the late 1950s. He “contracted a case of car-mania” while working on old cars with his dad up through his teens, according to a library press release.
He obtained his art degree at California State University – Stanislaus in 1976. In 2000, Costas had “a flash of inspiration” that Balinese dance masks reminded him of his dad’s old 1950s Buicks.
A grant by the Vermont Arts Council propelled him through a year of focused whimsy, resulting in the series of wall sculptures, “Balinese Buicks.” This series was constructed using cardboard, cereal boxes and colorful tissue paper “skins” to create striking, human-scale masks. Even with using humble materials, coming face to face with one of Costa’s masks leaves the viewer stunned by the gaze of an otherworldly creature, all according to the library.
The “Balinese Buicks” and more of Art’s sculptures will be on exhibit during the library’s regular hours, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The library is located at 55 Main St. The show is free and open to the public.
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