Paul Oestreicher & Christopher Raccioppi

Paul Oestreicher has found inspiration in the fascinating lifestyles to which he has been exposed. Since the age of sixteen, he has lived intermittently with Unami-Delaware Indians in Oklahoma, sculpting and drawing the traditional elders. His drawings have appeared in books and journals about Native Americans. Mr. Oestreicher has exhibited at the Beidenharn Museum (LA), the Belskie Museum of Art and Science, the Albany Institute of History and Art, the Memphis Botanical Gardens, and the Weston Gardens of Fort Worth (TX). His work is in the permanent collections of the Virginia Museum of Animal Art and the Cape Ann Historical Museum (MA). He was the featured sculptor for the Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors and at the International Touching Leaves Sculpture Exhibition (IL), and was the Artist-in-Residence at Les Animaliers National Sculpture Exhibition (CT). Three of his works have been selected for exhibition at the ambassador’s residence in Guatemala. In 2009 his works were featured in Lenape: Ellis Island’s First Inhabitants at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Through his long-standing association with Sculptureworks, he has exhibited and taught across the country, inspiring thousands to create. Although celebrated for his skill as a master of detail, Mr. Oestreicher’s art displays a great versatility. He says, “It is not whether a piece is figurative or abstract that makes it valid as a work of art. Nor is the medium essential. It is the vision and passion of the artist that make the difference.” He is proud to have studied intensively with eminent artist and anatomist Frank L. Porcu for more than a decade, and honored to help pass on his legacy to a new group of students. Christopher Raccioppi’s passion for the figure and human anatomy started at a very young age. He began studying at the League at the age of sixteen with Gustav Rehberger. He went on to pursue his B.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts, and then the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. In Carrara, Italy, he studied direct stone carving. He also studied at the National Academy School of Fine Arts with a full scholarship. He subsequently did his M.F.A. studies at the New York Academy of Figurative Art. After studying anatomy and the human figure for nearly twenty years, he still felt that something was missing from his artistic studies, and found the missing piece with the genius of Frank Porcu back at the Art Students League. Mr. Raccioppi then continued to study with him for many years and continues to be his studio manager. He has been represented by many galleries, including Phoenix Fine Art Gallery, New York City, and Vamp Fine Art, Miami, Florida. He continues to fulfill sculpture and drawing commissions for private and corporate clients.