Dennis retrieves enormous pieces of cedar wood from abandoned logging sites on the west coast of Vancouver Island. At his Denman Island studio, he trims and re-shapes them. He searches for the natural forms within and also moves each structure towards a human shape and presence. Over time, his sculptures have become more abstract as he strives to balance representation and symbolism in his ongoing search for ancestral forms.
Michael Dennis graduated from
Portland’s prestigious Reed College in Oregon. In 1967, he obtained
a PhD from Stanford University. During the 1970s, he studied neurophysiology
and was a professor of medicine at Harvard and the University of California,
Berkeley.
Dennis moved to Denman Island during the 1980s where he built his house in part with found materials. Today, his work is in numerous prestigious collections and has been installed at major universities in Canada and the United States. His exhibits and installations have been reviewed by the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun, In Focus Magazine and, several times, by the Vancouver Sun.
Dennis moved to Denman Island during the 1980s where he built his house in part with found materials. Today, his work is in numerous prestigious collections and has been installed at major universities in Canada and the United States. His exhibits and installations have been reviewed by the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun, In Focus Magazine and, several times, by the Vancouver Sun.
