Batle Studio l Graphite Sculptures

Agelio Batle is an accomplished artist from San Francisco and is best known for his sculptures. He graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from the University of California in Santa Barbara in Biology. He later returned to his original and lifelong interest in art and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts.

Agelio Batle is certainly a very accomplished artist with a rich background in arts. His art can be seen in museums all across the country. His early 1988 ceramic sculpture was chosen by the American Craft Museum of New York to represent the best work in the country by artist under the age of thirty. Years later, in 1995, Agelio organized the Brick Project that was unveiled at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art opening ceremony. It consisted of twelve hundred local children that constructed a cityscape from wooden bricks that were prepared at the children's school sites. Through discussion and interaction, the children painted a brick with their own perception of home. At the event, attendants were allowed to walk through the cityscape.

Batle's creativity and inspiration come from ordinary, everyday objects that he disassembles and transforms into works of art. His studio is located in San Francisco, where he and his employees hand-carve Batle's original sculptural designs composed of solid graphite.

Batle uses a unique molding and carving process using carbonaceous graphite, which is a prehistoric mineral remain from a former plant life. Batle first hand carves his original design using clay, followed by carbonaceous graphite that is fused with smudge-resistant compounds, than carved delicately into the objects you see. This is a process that Batle has created. His most personal creation yet, and now limited edition item, is the Drawing Hand No.1. Batle believes that hands perceive and reveal things that our eyes and conscious minds may never know and can only be discovered by putting a pencil to paper. The Drawing Hand suggests that our hands have the capacity to be used as an instrument to release our creativity. And to Agelio, the hand is an object of innocence, desire, pleasure and human potential.

Agelio's graphite sculptures can be displayed as pieces of art anywhere in your office or home, but they are also useful art tools. Every angle of the solid graphite can be used like a pencil. It is essentially smudge-free, so it will not rub off on your hands. Every sculpture is unique; they are hand-crafted and produced in a limited series. Each delicate piece is made to last seven to nine years and come packaged in its own box.

Throughout the years, Batle has continued to expand his line of graphite objects. Each piece is symbolic to Batle as he finds inspiration in nature. Agelio Batle found a way to bring art in a very unique form that anyone can appreciate.

Written by Bianca Raygoza, product specialist for WhatSheBuys. WhatSheBuys is an authorized Batle Studio retailer offering Agelio Batle Graphite Objects pencil sculptures including Right Hand and Left Hand as well as other current Batle Graphite pieces.