Two Studies in Stone
Sculptors Madeline Wiener and Kathi Caricof share space and ideas at Purple Door studio

Written by LOIS H. FEINSTEIN
Photography by KIMBERLY DAWN

The Purple Door studio sits in a gritty industrial neighborhood north of LoDo. When Madeline Wiener set up her first sculpting studio a block away from its current location in 1989, it wasn’t unusual for her to find bullet casings on the steps of the studio each morning.


Today, the area is more peaceful, if still a tad scruffy. But step beyond the eponymous purple door and the atmosphere changes dramatically: White dust swirls in a kind of angelic haze, creating a dreamlike atmosphere through which blocks of granite and limestone are perched in various stages of revelation.


Wiener, tall and thin, with a neat white bob that makes her look younger than her 60 years, is passionate about the studio she shares with up to nine sculptors at any time. She once dreamt about working in Carrara, Italy, home of the stone quarries made famous by Michelangelo. However, after a visit there, she returned to Colorado, satisfied that the facilities at the Purple Door were more conducive to creating art than
even those of the hallowed Italian city.

Wiener, a native New Yorker, was studying painting at the NY School of Visual Arts when an instructor suggested that she try working in a three-dimensional medium. She tried sculpting and was hooked. “Sculpture is physical, tactile and rewarding. It’s done when you’re done with it. You can’t go back and add anything. You give it your whole being,” she explains.


When her husband, a professor at Columbia University, lost his job because of the pharmacy school’s closing, the couple lit out for Colorado. It was here, in 1992, that Wiener met sculptor Kathi Caricof, who came to the Purple Door seeking studio space. The two women had much in common; they loved working in stone, and both of them became sculptors after initially working in other media.


Caricof had been working as a successful industrial designer in California. After she married, in 1985, she took some time off to raise her blended family of four children. It was during this hiatus from work that a friend introduced her to stone carving. “I loved it immediately, and from that point on I became focused on turning my designs into sculpture,” says Caricof. “To stand before a stone — this gift of nature — and to begin chipping it away takes real courage.” She studied with master stone carver Tony Amato and has created works in stone and metal that are displayed in such disparate locations as Little Rock, Ark., Burbank, Calif., and Golden, Colo.


While Wiener and Caricof each pursues her own work and vision, they collaborate on a number of pieces. Among their most notable projects are the Indiana limestone panels that adorn the Newman Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Denver campus. “While the building was under construction, I received a call from the lead architect, who said he had two triangles of stone that he wanted us to design,” Wiener recalls. “He wanted something whimsical, musical and timeless.”


Wiener and Caricof went to work developing ideas and drawings for what ultimately became 12 bas-relief panels representing instrumentalists, a singer and musical symbols. Each woman worked on her own pieces although they had frequent “consults” to make sure they were in sync. The finished
figures are 24 feet tall and mounted on the top corners of the building.


Creating massive sculptures doesn’t faze either woman, although both admit to being rarities in the world of stone carving when they first started. Wiener says, “At first I was really challenged to do things I thought only men could do, like lifting heavy objects and wielding big power tools. It was a personal challenge to my womanhood.” Now, both prefer creating large works to smaller ones, although, by necessity, they work on projects of all sizes.

Caricof enjoys taking a massive and heavy block and chipping away at it to create an illusion of movement, a process she calls “detractive carving.” She comments, “When you work large, you get inside the stone both physically and artistically.” She is currently experimenting with aerblock — aerated concrete mixed with marble — and is designing a 35-foot stainless steel structure for installation in Little Rock.


Wiener tends to stick with stone of all types, including granite, marble and limestone. She prefers to work with material that has minimal patterning since stone with complex coloring and design tends to overshadow the detail that is a critical part of her work.

Expressing inner thoughts and feelings is a hallmark of the women’s private work — pieces developed for galleries and collectors as opposed to their public commissions. Caricof describes her private work as “very, very personal,” and her pieces reflect periods of introspection about events that have touched her life. Wiener’s personal work mirrors life episodes, including the birth of a grandson and the passing of her father-in-law.


Not surprisingly, both sculptors’ private work resonates especially well with women. “In sculpture we express all aspects of life — political, sexual and psychological — and we find that women relate strongly because our experiences are their experiences,” Wiener explains. “Our art is all about life— everyday life from the most personal to the most universal,” adds Caricof.


Although the bulk of their work is created at the Purple Door studio, the two sculptors change venue every summer at a symposium known as MARBLE/marble, which takes place in (surprise!) Marble, Colo., located high in the Rockies near Aspen. Wiener started the symposium in 1988; since then it has grown to include participants and instructors from all over the world. The eight-day sessions provide stone sculpture training for students ranging from the never-have-sculpted to professionals seeking to improve their techniques.


Each participant is given a three-cubic-foot block of stone weighing about 500 pounds, access to sculpting
tools and guidance from professional instructors who also conduct working demonstrations. The student sculptors literally leave civilization behind; many of them camp out for the week, and there are no cell phones, radios or TVs. “Their minds are turned off to all outside influences — it’s just them and the block,” says Wiener. “It’s spontaneous and provides instant gratification when they see how the stone is changed through their work.” Both Wiener and Caricof teach during the sessions and lead the open forums at night when everyone gathers to discuss art, stone and tools under the clear, starry skies along the Crystal River.

Pursuit of her art has taken Wiener farther afield than the Rockies. She has spent time in Scotland and India, and her work is displayed in both countries, as well as in Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles. In May 2008 Wiener will be one of just 30 sculptors invited to participate in an international symposium in Vietnam.


For now, Wiener and Caricof are content to work in the dusty cavern of the Purple Door studio in Denver. Whether collaborating or working solo, the process for the two sculptors is always the same: start with a block of stone and gradually chip away at it. What’s lost is irrelevant, ground into dust and swept away into the studio’s filtration system. What remains is a powerful and emotional statement, carved from the elements of the earth and brought to life by the two women’s artistic vision.