IVAN McLEAN

IVAN McLEAN Description

Ivan McLean’s Sphere and Disc sculptures appear to have grown on their own, assembling themselves from large numbers of individual steel elements, which magically organize into intricate, chaotic patterns like the cells of a complex organism. Of course, the artist painstakingly composes the works through hundreds of precise welds (view McLean at work in this video from our Inside the Sculptor's Studio series). Once installed in an outdoor setting, the playful sculptures enter into a dialog with their environment, demanding a powerful place, yet yielding to the views around and beyond with grace.

The son of a contractor father and photographer mother, Ivan McLean grew up in rural California and developed a love for art and building things at a young age. McLean studied Farm Management at California Polytechnic State University. After two years in the Peace Corps, he worked on a 700,000-acre sheep station in Australia before moving back to California, where he continued ranching, building fences and gates, and began crafting furniture and sculpture. Thus began his sculpture career.

Ivan McLean’s sophisticated works are collected throughout the United States.

IVAN McLEAN Statement

I’ve built functional things since I could hold a hammer, but the sculpture I make now is based on the desire to create pieces that have no use other than to make people smile.

IVAN McLEAN Resumé

Selected Public/Corporate Installations and Commissions
2015-2017 City of Yountville, CA (temporary installation for public art program)
2015-2017 City of West Hollywood, CA (temporary installation for public art program)
2015-2016 City of Orinda, Orinda, CA (temporary installation for public art program)
2015 City of South San Francisco, CA
2015 100 Saint Paul, Denver, CO
2015 Sky 13, Portland, OR
2015 Mason Building, Williams St., Portland, OR
2015 Barcelona Apartments, Beaverton, OR
2015 NW 11^th and Hoyt, Portland, OR
2015 The Pinnacle Luxury Apartments, Hollywood, CA
2013 & 2015 New Seasons Market, Portland, OR
2013, 2014 & 2015 “What the Festival,” Dufur, OR (temporary installations for yearly festival)
2014 Newport Beach Inaugural Sculpture in Civic Center Park Exhibition, Newport Beach, CA
2014 California Polytechnic State University, Performing Arts Center, San Luis Obispo, CA
2012 & 2014 City of Bellevue Bellwether Exhibition, Bellevue, WA (temporary installations for public art program)
2013 FLOR Promotional material, Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA (temporary installations for catalog photoshoot)
2013 QAD, Santa Barbara, CA
2013 Alberta Main Street Non-Profit, Portland, OR
2011, 2012 & 2013 Urban Development Partners, 3339 SE Division Apartments, Portland, OR
2012 Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, MetLife Building, New York, NY
2011 Clackamas County, Clackamas, OR
2010 Port of Kennewick, WA
2009 Amazon Headquarters, in collaboration with Walker Macy, Seattle, WA
2009 City of Wilsonville, OR
2009 Encore Condominiums, Portland, OR
2008 The Nines Hotel, Portland, OR
2008 Hoyt St. Properties, Portland, OR (temporary installation)
2007 Washougal Town Center, Washougal, WA

Selected Private Commissions
Auckland, New Zealand
Frankville, ON, Canada
Kamuela, HI   
Reno, NV                               
St. Helena, CA                       
Sonoma, CA   
Stinson Beach, CA                 
Burlingame, CA         
Reading, MA                         
Tucson, AZ                            
Faber, VA                               
Greenbrae, CA                       
Denver, CO
Calistoga, CA                        
Santa Barbara, CA                 
Amherst, NH                          
Dallas, TX                              
Columbia Gorge, OR             
Hillsborough, CA                   
Silver Spring, MD                   
River Hills, WI                       
Sioux City, IA                         
Napa, CA                               
Vancouver, WA                     
Pasco, WA                             
Palm Springs, CA