His unique outdoor sculptures are prominently displayed in Sterling Heights, Reno and Yanqing, China.

Not bad for a 31-year-old artist from Hamtramck.

"I find sculpture to be extremely challenging and a means to question the mind/body schism present in our culture," said John Richardson, assistant professor, Department of Art and Art History, Wayne State University. "Sculpture is a way for me to integrate thought, feeling and sensation in a coherent form that is part of a long cultural tradition. It's a way to communicate unlike any other."

Richardson's passion and energy for art is gaining international recognition. His latest work in progress is a large-scale outdoor sculpture for the Michigan Legacy Art Park.

And last summer, Richardson was one of a few artists selected from the United States to participate in a symposium in Yanqing, China - about one hour north of Beijing. The selection process was rigorous. To be considered, he submitted a proposal for a piece of work, including drawings, narrative essays and images of his past sculptures - all based on the theme of the symposium, People, Life and Nature. A committee of prominent Chinese sculptors and professors selected Richardson and four other sculptors from the U.S to participate. This elite group of artists soon joined 15 other sculptors from Russia, the Netherlands, France, Italy, the Congo, South Korea, Japan, Sweden and England on an all-expenses-paid trip to China.

For the next five weeks, Richardson lived in Yanqing and worked with a Chinese stonemason to create his proposed sculpture. The sculpture, Anastomatic Lines, was carved out of marble and is now erected permanently in Xiadu Park in Yanqing.

The sculpture consists of a vertical stone approximately seven feet high and weighing about six tons and a horizontal stone approximately five feet in length. Both stones, consisting of carved Chinese white marble with a series of incised lines, are wider than they are deep and taper towards the top.

"The lines relate to patterns that exist both in nature and our bodies," Richardson said. "The sculpture is, in part, an embodiment of our connection with other forms in nature."

Richardson is an expert on urban decay and renewal and how it manifests itself in sculpture. While in China, he presented a paper titled "City as Center, Center as Boundary" at a related conference.

"I have long been interested in notions of industrial decline and the nature/culture juxtaposition," he said.

His interest led to the creation of a series of three exhibits titled "The Meaningful Object." With support from the Humanities Center and a Universities Research Grant, Richardson developed an exhibition that explored this topic.

"The notion was to visually investigate urban decay and renewal by looking at three-dimensional art created by artists who live and work in Detroit," Richardson said.

The exhibition most recently was displayed at the Chatham Cultural Centre in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, in February 2001.

These days, Richardson is sharing his passion for sculpture. In 1998, he began teaching all levels of sculpture at WSU, from beginning- to graduate-level courses.

"Participation in any of the arts requires a great deal of persistence and dedication," Richardson said. "A stereotypical view is that there are no careers in the arts and that the arts are somehow not as legitimate as other endeavors. This simply isn't true. Ultimately, culture is what defines us as human and makes life interesting. Therefore, art is not only important, but invaluable."

The Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts is educating the next generation of visual artists, musicians, communication professionals and professional actors and dancers. The college offers 16undergraduate and 12 graduate programs in Art and Art History, Communication, Dance, Music and Theatre with students benefiting from expert faculty and excellent resources such as the nationally recognized Hilberry Theatre.

Fast Facts

• Hometown: Eugene, Oregon
• Current Residence: Hamtramck, Michigan
• Education: Bachelor of Art, University of Puget Sound
• Master of Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Years teaching at WSU: 3
• Career Highlights: More than 60 local/regional and national exhibitions, including the upcoming "Recent Work," Newaygo County Council for the Arts, Fremont, Michigan
• Currently working on Ontonagon for the Michigan Legacy Outdoor Park
• Juror for Art & Apples Festival, Rochester, Michigan and Detroit Festival of the Arts
• Honors: Honorarium, Sterling Heights Cultural Commission
  Honorarium, Northern Arizona University
  Honorarium, Chatham Cultural Centre