Alan Hochman
Alan Hochman Sculpture, Inc.
Cave Creek, Arizona, United States
Sculpture
Explore the artistic vision and craftsmanship of Alan Hochman
Unity
A vertical puzzle, this piece can fit together or be pulled apart. Water flows from the top of each element covering every face of all three elements.
48 × 58 × 12 Inches
Sold
About the Artist
Self-taught, I have been designing, creating and installing sculptural fountains and water pieces for more than a fifteen years. The experience of creating by removing, knowing that there is no going back once a chunk is gone, is so exhilarating for me that I quit a successful business career to make fountains. After working with a stone for days, or weeks, there is such a thrill the first time water comes out of it that I want to dance, sing and laugh – and I usually do all three.
During this time I have worked successfully with architects, landscape architects, designers, builders, and individual clients to create sculptural fountains that meet the challenges for their specific projects. I have focused on being innovative and creative in problem solving, often working in a team environment, to develop unique, successful solutions.
Published
Phoenix Home & Garden, “Modern Hacienda” – November 2009
Water’s Edge, “Innovation” – May 2008
Phoenix Home & Garden, “Less is More” – May 2008
Arbus Magazine, “Water Gardens” – March 2008
AZ Magazine, “Home Grown” – March, 2008
Phoenix Business Journal/Luxury Living, “Water Sculptures” – November, 2007
Arizona Republic, “Water Features Add Coolness to Outdoors” – October, 2007
Phoenix Home & Garden, “Desert Retreat” – October, 2007
WaterShapes Magazine, “Hearts of Stone” – June 2007
The Peak Magazine, “Sculptures in History” – May 2007
Timber Home Magazine, “The Stone Age” – June 2007
The Peak Magazine, “Finding Balance” – March 2007
Arizona Foothills Magazine, “Splash of Style” – November 2006
Fallbrook Village News, “Fallbrook attracts well-known sculptor” – September, 2006
Sonoran News, “Sculpture Competition” – May 2006
Building Stone Magazine, “Abstracts in Stone and Water” – March 2006
Scottsdale Tribune, “New Sculpture” – February 2006
Sonoran News, “Taking an arts destination to the next level” – April 2003
Phoenix Home and Garden, “A Novel Approach” – April 2003
Phoenix Home and Garden, “An Architect’s Architect” – March 2003
Scottsdale Tribune “Art’s function develops ‘Form’” – January 2003
Jewish News, “Artist sculpts rocks of ages” – December 2002
Scottsdale Magazine, “Artworks” – November 2002
Sonoran News, “Art partnerships developing through exhibits” – January 2002
Sources and Design, “Wide Open Spaces” - January 2002
Artbook of the Southwest, “Artist Profile” – November 2001
Arizona ArtBook, “Artist Profile” – March 2001
Sonoran News, “Here and there in Art” - January, 2001
Arizona Republic, “3 Reasons to See” - November 2000
KPNX, NBC TV, “Good Morning Arizona” - November 2000
Sonoran News, “Artist Studio Tour”- November, 2000
KTAR News Radio, “Coming Up” - November 1999
Sonoran News, “Here and There in Art” - December 1998
Foothills Sentential, “New art studio features stone and water” – November 1998
Public/Commercial Commissions
Alexander Group Building (entrance lobby), Scottsdale, AZ
Beaver Creek Lodge (resort, main lounge), Beaver Creek, CO
Collier International Building (main entrance), Scottsdale, AZ
Compass Rose Park (entry feature), Hilton Head Island, NC
Dick and Frishe Design Group (architects, main conference room), Phoenix, AZ
Fidelity Real Estate Group (corporate offices) Colorado Springs, CO
Fountain Hills Town Hall (main entrance), Town of Fountain Hills, AZ
Mt. Graham Cancer Center (main entrance), Safford, AZ
NMT, Inc. (corporate office lobby), Belen, NM
Paradise Valley Community College (west courtyard), Phoenix, AZ
Sonoran Desert Design (landscape designers, entrance), Scottsdale, AZ
Spanish Village Sculpture Garden (centerpiece), Carefree, AZ
Write Design (graphic design studio, courtyard), Scottsdale, AZ
Commissions/Collections
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Illinois
Massachusetts
Michigan
New Mexico
North Carolina
Okalahoma
Tex
Artist Statement
My work is about uniting two seemingly incompatible effects. On the surface, my work is about creating a surprising, fun environment that captures people’s imagination and attention. After the surprise passes, people experience peacefulness as they gaze at the water moving over the stone and hear the (usually) gentle, brook-like sounds of the fountain.
I love to surprise people with my work so that they forget themselves and have a moment of pure enjoyment. I’ve explored the surprise factor by cantilevering pieces so that they appear to be leaping out of the water or are about to fall over, balancing huge pieces on tiny points, and carving stone so that it looks like a curved piece of paper that could spring back at any moment, but with water flowing over it. Integrating multiple elements is another way I create surprise, especially when the pieces fit together like a puzzle, are cut from the same slab so that you can follow the veins across the pieces, or when one piece is hidden by another until you move around or past it.
My work is contemporary/abstract and nearly all site-specific. It responds to the environment and reflects the client, sometimes telling a story, like Ceremonial Dance created for the Town of Fountain Hills to recall it’s Native American heritage. Sometimes the piece is just about fun like Window created for Spanish Village – a big slab of colorful travertine with a long vertical window cut through it. Kids, and more than a few adults, toss pebbles through the cutout or try to land them in the depression at the bottom of the cut. Either way the piece (and sometimes a kid) is bathed in water and everybody has a good time.
Meeting challenges is one of the most satisfying parts of my work. Working with water entails design constraints since water only wants to flow straight down, but sculpture often wants to curve and flow freely. Then there are the engineering challenges of supporting unbalanced forms, earthquake and hurricane stabilization, and designing so that a 300-pound college kid can climb on a sculpture without it crashing down. The college kids are harder to deal with than the hurricanes. My current personal challenge is working with glass. For years I’ve be fascinated by it and I’m now exploring combing glass with stone and with stone and water to create new forms.
The years I spent in the corporate world let me bring a business-like approach to the business side of my art. Deadlines, working with a team, and managing complex projects and large budgets are second nature to me. As VP of European and US companies I got to learn how different cultures live, work together, and solve problems successfully. Living in various countries in Europe and traveling in Africa and Asia have given me a much different perspective on life. Those experiences inform both my art and my life.