Sama

Primarily self-taught, Guilbert began carving wood in his early life and has had the privilege of learning from master craftsmen. He has refined his artistic style in recent years, and his work has been showcased in group exhibitions, various galleries, and art competitions around the country. Guilbert has also participated in several art residencies, gaining valuable experience and exposure. Guilbert’s current artistic vision involves creating larger, site-specific public artworks, as well as finely crafted small and medium objects appropriate for local and international exhibitions. His unique approach to sculpture, informed by his personal experiences and appreciation for nature, is earning him recognition within the art world. Guilbert continues to evolve his practice with a keen eye towards the future.

ARTIST STATEMENTI create sculptures that aim to evoke profound contemplation and resonate with my audience. I use wood as my primary medium and draw inspiration from the organic shapes found in nature. My fascination with wood has driven me to explore all ecological regions of the continent in search of exceptional pieces of timber. To achieve the desired effect on the material, I employ a range of techniques, such as burning, charring, brushing, distressing, oiling, buffing, bleaching, ageing, dyeing, and quenching. The natural beauty of wood enhances the organic forms of my sculptures, and I often include raw steel or brass, resulting in genuinely singular pieces.

My goal is for my sculptural forms to be larger than life and to offer an awakening of an ancestral and mythical response in an urbanized context. I seek to challenge our relationship to the wild by reinstating the unapologetic elements of natural beauty in a hyper-modern world.

My passion for sculpture is deeply rooted in my love for nature and human cultures. My sculptures have been exhibited in galleries, shows, and outdoor installations, and I have been commissioned to create site-specific sculptures for private art collections.

As I work away with my tools, the trees I use reveal an archaeology of sorts, with years of archived photons, captured carbon, and countless external events – an exquisite balance of growth and decay. My works seek to encourage a discourse between the ecological and the man-made, between the natural, external sphere, and the human, inner sphere.

I currently operate a gallery and workshop in the Docklands, near Melbourne’s CBD, and my works are exhibited around the country. I continue to evolve my practice with a keen eye towards the future, with a vision that involves creating larger, site-specific public artworks, as well as finely crafted small and medium objects appropriate for local and international exhibitions.

Lucas Guilbert
Australian Timber Sculptor

Lucas Guilbert transforms raw timber into contemplative works that bridge the civilized and the wild. Born in Montreal and settling in Australia in 2007, this award-winning Australian sculptor has built a practice rooted in the intersection of natural forms and human experience.
Working from his Docklands studio near Melbourne's CBD, Guilbert creates timber sculpture that ranges from intimate gallery pieces to commanding public art installations. His fascination with wood has driven him across all ecological regions of the continent, sourcing exceptional timber that carries within it an archaeology of growth, decay, and transformation.
Guilbert's approach to woodcarving is both technical and alchemical. He employs burning, charring, brushing, distressing, oiling, buffing, bleaching, aging, dyeing, and quenching to coax from each piece its hidden character. Raw steel and brass often punctuate his compositions, creating singular works that resist easy categorization. His animal sculpture and totem-inspired forms emerge not as literal representations but as archetypal presences, works that awaken something primal in urban environments.
Primarily self-taught, Guilbert began carving wood in his early life and has refined his artistic style through learning from master craftsmen and participating in art residencies. His sculptures have been featured in group exhibitions, galleries, and art competitions throughout Australia, while private commissions for site-specific works continue to expand his reach.
The sculptor's vision encompasses both the monumental and the intimate. His garden sculpture installations bring unapologetic natural beauty into domestic spaces, while his larger public art pieces invite passersby to reconsider their relationship with the organic world. Each work, whether destined for a gallery wall or an outdoor setting, carries the weight of deep time: the years archived in wood grain, the photons captured, the countless events witnessed by living trees.
Guilbert's work seeks to encourage discourse between the ecological and the man-made, between the natural, external sphere and the human, inner sphere. His pole art and vertical compositions echo ancestral forms while speaking a contemporary language, challenging viewers to contemplate essence, impermanence, and connection.
Operating at the intersection of fine art and environmental meditation, Lucas Guilbert continues to evolve a sculptural practice that honors both material and meaning, creating museum-quality works that are as much about what remains as what has been carved away.

Additional Lucas Guilbert work is available through our sister gallery, SOHO Galleries — view the full collection at https://www.sohogalleries.net/australian-sculptors/lucas-guilbert-sculpture/