Tim Fonk (b. 1945) makes art “because not making art would be worse.” He attended Layton School of Art from 1964 to 1968 where he focused on metal sculpture by means of lost wax casting and welding. In his mid-forties his career as a commercial welder superseded his artistic practice until he retired in 2008. He has been represented by DeLind Gallery in Milwaukee and through Linda Sanduski. 

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Informed by shape and line, this solo exhibition displays wall masks and a selection of avian studies on paper alongside the wood and steel sculptures they inspired. ​

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Fonk is partially color blind in discerning browns and greens and seeing variations in values. He relies on his wife to verify colors and understand how others would see the colors in his works. He uses pencil, colored pencil, watercolor, and acrylic on paper to design his sculptural works. To achieve the vibrant, crisp colors on his sculptures, Fonk uses Montana brand graffiti spray paint from Germany, applying it only outdoors, in the wind, with a fan blowing, while wearing a respirator.

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This exhibition was supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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