Wesley Wofford - Biography
Wesley grew up in a rural southern town in Georgia and displayed an artistic talent at an early age. Upon graduating high school he entered the Valdosta State University BFA Program on a competitive art scholarship and immersed himself in developing his talents. After several years of study at VSU, Wesley began to feel frustrated with his college direction. He decided to leave with his Associate Degree and head for Hollywood, California. Infatuated with hyper-realism, Wesley pursued work in the motion picture industry creating realistic people, characters, and animals. His obsession with advanced translucent silicones led him to develop his own formulas and techniques, which in turn catapulted him to the forefront of the makeup effects industry.
Wesley has worked on over 45 motion pictures and various television shows.(link to motion picture industry resume page) His credits include A Beautiful Mind, Hannibal, Batman and Robin, The Rock, and Collateral. He has personally worked with such actors as Tom Cruise, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Will Smith, Chow Yun-Fat, and Russell Crowe. He has been featured in numerous magazine articles and television coverage and has received many awards, including an Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as well as an Academy Award.
Wesley eventually became dissatisfied with the medium. “My endeavors in the motion picture industry were rooted in the pursuit of sculpture but became about everything else. I had to flee to preserve my artistic sanity, which was pretty drastic considering I was at the height of my industry.” Wesley moved into the mountains of North Carolina with his wife and two children to “converse with my muse on a more intimate level”. His sculpture studio is a 2,300 sq. ft. barn that is nestled with his home on a mountaintop.
Wesley is featured in Sculpture Review’s Fall Issue and was runner-up in Artsync Magazine’s Cover Contest. He also was juried into The National Sculpture Society’s 76th Annual Exhibition in which he won “The Beverly Hoyt Robertson Memorial Award for a work by a young sculptor. In addition to completing commissions, portraits, and working on his own compositions, Wesley also co-founded a sculpture park in Cashiers, North Carolina The 12.5 acre park installed its first five permanent sculptures in 2007 and is hosted its first Bi-Annual Invitational Exhibition in 2008 with ten sculptors from around the country. Wesley is currently represented by Summit One Gallery in Highlands, NC and is seeking further gallery representation nationwide.
