Baker Artist Portfolios

Greg Gensheimer (he/him) is a sculptor, woodworker and general contractor. He grew up in a strict military family and the only paintings he remembers seeing in his youth were graphics on a B-52 bomber fuselage. However, he knew from a young age that he wanted to be a carpenter when he witnessed his maternal grandfather deftly jack up an entire house in order to repair its foundation.

This understanding led him to explore shop classes starting in fourth grade and continuing through college at SUNY Oswego, where he received a B.S. in Industrial Arts. Post college, he was drawn to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas and had a eureka moment viewing Greek Cycladic figures that fueled a lifetime of curiosity for the visual arts. He went on to teach shop in the U.S. and abroad in the Kingdom of Tonga as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Over time, Greg’s focus shifted to industry, where he made cabinets and furniture, manufactured architectural molding, and worked as a mill manager setting up industrial machinery. His later studies at Syracuse University’s sculpture department helped bridge the gap between functional and sculptural objects.

Since 2006, Greg has run his own business, Gensheimer Construction, and spends his 9-5 doing custom, built-in cabinetry, kitchens and bathrooms, trim work, decks, windows, and doors. However, he also runs a concurrent project, Gensheimer Constructs, dedicating evenings and weekends to creating sculpture.

Greg’s ideas for sculptures are generated from several sources. One source may be the material itself. For example, a recently commissioned piece will be a contemporary obelisk made of larch that will stand sentry in an outdoor garden. The grain direction, knots, and density of this timber will influence his approach and the final design. A second source of ideas can develop by pushing the boundaries of tools and machines. For instance, Greg angles his table saw fence to make deep cove cuts that then become the backbone of a pedestal piece.

Throughout his day-to-day life, sculptural forms consistently upwell in Greg’s mind’s eye. He pays attention to the visual barrage of shape and form that exist everywhere: in architectural details, the patina on a manhole cover, a scraplet of metal lying on the ground. He borrows from nature, found objects, industrial zones, and anything manufactured. These building blocks are altered, distilled, and simplified to their most basic form and he mines them as resources into his artwork. The common thread is his connection to the industrial aesthetic. He finds beauty in the craft, the process, the machinery, the materials, and even in the offcuts.

Greg strives to make sculptures that only look like sculptures, not a dog or a leaf, a figure nor a landscape, but a form unique unto itself.