Background
Grainger McKoy was born in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1947.
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Grainger McKoy
Edit ProfileEducation
In 1965, he attended Clemson University in South Carolina and pursued a bachelor"s degree in architecture, which turned into a zoology degree.
Career
He is best known for his wood sculptures but also produces jewelry and gifts. After college, he took an apprenticeship under the bird carver Gilbert Maggioni. Once McKoy learned how to mold bronze and gold, he expanded his repertoire into steel, bronze, sterling silver, gold, and platinum. for these, he first carves into wood and then uses a lost-wax cast to produce metal pieces.
In 2010, a public park called Swan Lake Iris Gardens in Sumter, South Carolina, commissioned Grainger Mckoy to create an outdoor installation.
"Recovery" is a stainless steel statue representing the wing of a pintail duck in flight. From September 2011 through January 2012, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta housed a Grainger McKoy exhibit, showcasing over 30 of his sculptures and drawings.
The museum said that McKoy"s sculptures "grip the observant viewer with trompe l’oeil illusion, while rejecting the confounding trickery often implicit in that "trick of the eye" style. Rather McKoy invites us to question, wonder, observe, and above all, revel in the pure beauty of his birds.".
