In his wonderful biography on Picasso, Norman Mailer stated that he (Picasso) has a unique gift in his ability to produce a painting with "three-dimensional expression."  This same effect can be found in the work of Dennis Heimbach.  As a sculptor, he has poured his expression and expertise into an amalgam of style.  This devotion has added a fourth dimension to his work: faith.  Faith in the viewer to find something in the work that impacts them deeply and unforgettably.  And that is the nature of art.

 

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dennis started on his path by designing futuristic automobile bodies.  Placing a First Place design in the Fisher Body Craftsman Guild Awards in 1963 was quickly followed a year later with an Honorable Mention at those same ceremonies.  Continuing on this path would have been fairly easy, but choices in life involve finding the eventual fork-in-the-road.  Dennis found his in the designing of jewelry.  Taking a smaller, more precious piece of metal and shaping it into something magical proved to be an irresistible temptation and a major challenge.

 

Dennis took on a formal indentured apprenticeship as a jewelry designer, manufacturer, and diamond setter.  Not exactly a walk in the park.  But he has faith in himself, and after an additional year studying with European master jeweler Helmut Odoefer, he had his trade.

 

Fast forward thirty years, seventeen as the owner of his own retail guild store in Madison, Wisconsin.  Dennis has now come full circle.  After retiring from retail jewelry in 1995, the artist and the artisan came together.  The details, passion, and faith have designed the fine arts sculptor.