The sculptor picked bulls as some of his subjects because he was attracted to their “sprawl of mass” and made them even more broad and colossal. Woytuk’s old professor, Art Gunderson from Kenyon College sums up why his former student is titled the “greatest animal sculptor in the Western world.” “Peter has the ability to transform an animal form into something that’s accurate, truthful, and beautiful. He uses animals to say other things. His work is rich with symbolism, existing in many layers.”
Peter Woytuk was born in St. Paul Minnesota and raised in Massachusetts. He grew up in a visual and artistic family. His dad was a prominent architect and his mother is a talented textile artist. They opened Peter’s eyes to art and architecture through numerous trips to Europe. He went on to study at Kenyon College with a focus on photography. It was not until he apprenticed with sculptor Phillip Gausman that he developed the techniques of modeling clay, mold making and bronze casting. He started to get high profile commissions such as four life sized African elephants for the North Carolina Zoological Park, and his career began to flourish.
Woytuk needed to find foundries that have the ability to single pour extremely large scale sculptures. Thailand and China by tradition are expertly able to cast his designs. He has now relocated to Thailand where he lives most of the year. Woytuk exhibits throughout Asia with a strong presence in the United States.
His sculpture is in numerous Public Collections such as Jing, A Sculpture Park, People’s Republic of China, Children’s Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, City of Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Fl and he North Carolina Zoo Park, Charlotte, NC.
