Wayne Chabre (born 1947) is an American sculptor from

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

. His works have been described as "whimsical". Many of his sculptures are functional, such as

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

s and downspouts; railings and gates; lighting, pavilions, fountains, and benches.

Early life and education

Chabre was born in 1947 and raised on a farm in

Walla Walla County, Washington Walla Walla County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 62,584. The county seat and largest city is Walla Walla. The county was formed on April 25, 1854 and is named after the Walla Wall ...

. He attended

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

in Spokane, then joined the Peace Corps, where he served as a graphic designer in the Agricultural Information Service in Lesotho, Africa. After his Peace Corps service he lived in

Estacada, Oregon Estacada is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, about southeast of Portland. The 2020 population is estimated to be 3,700. According to the 2010 census, the population in 2010 was 2,695. It is the 89th largest city in Oregon and t ...

for three years, then moved to Portland, Oregon. In 1975 he returned to Walla Walla.

Public art

Washington

Many of Chabre's works are commissioned by the

Washington State Arts Commission Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

under a construction set-aside program. His works are displayed to the public in

Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in the county and the twelfth largest in the state. The city's downto ...

;

Mount Tahoma High School Mount Tahoma High School is a high school in Tacoma, Washington. It opened in 1961 and is a part of the Tacoma Public Schools. The school's mascot is the Thunderbird as a ative Americansymbolism for power, protection, and strength. History Moun ...

in Tacoma; at a fire station in Seattle,

Mercer Island Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to it ...

; Waitsburg;

Washington State University Vancouver Washington State University Vancouver also known as WSU Vancouver is a campus of Washington State University. WSU Vancouver is located on a campus outside of Vancouver, Washington, approximately eight miles (13 km) north of the Columbia Riv ...

; and elsewhere.

Oregon

A number of his pieces are at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in Eugene, where he created a series of 12 gargoyles, including: *

Thomas Condon Thomas Condon (1822–1907) was an Irish Congregational minister, geologist, and paleontologist who gained recognition for his work in the U.S. state of Oregon. Life and career Condon arrived in New York City from Ireland in 1833 and graduated ...

('' Thomas Condon: Portrait of Condon'') *

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

(''

Marie Curie Gargoyle ''Marie Curie Gargoyle'' is an outdoor 1989 sculpture by Wayne Chabre, installed on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States. The hammered copper sheet high-relief of Marie Curie measures approximately x x . It wa ...

'') *

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

('' Einstein Gargoyle'') *

James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and ligh ...

('' Maxwell & Demon Gargoyle'') *

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

('' Isaac Newton Gargoyle'') *

Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...

(''

'') *

John von Neumann John von Neumann (; hu, Neumann János Lajos, ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath. He was regarded as having perhaps the widest cove ...

(''

'') * a fruit fly (''

Drosophila Fly Head ''Drosophila Fly Head'' is an outdoor 1988 sculpture by Wayne Chabre, installed on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States. The hammered copper sheet high-relief of a fly head measures approximately x x . It was ...

'') * a school of

zebrafish The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family ( Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (and thus often ...

(''

Zebra Fish The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow Family (biology), family (Cyprinidae) of the Order (biology), order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium, aquarium fish, frequently sold under ...

'') The

University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History The University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History (MNCH), commonly known as the UO Natural History Museum, is an American natural history museum at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Located near Hayward Field on the east side of ...

also displays four gargoyles: '' Bear Gargoyle'', '' Salmon Gargoyle'', '' Raven Gargoyle'', and ''Wolf Gargoyle''. The city of

Cannon Beach Cannon Beach is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Its population was 1,690 at the 2010 census. It is a popular coastal Oregon tourist destination, famous for Haystack Rock, a sea stack that juts out along the coast. In 2013, ''Nati ...

purchased his piece ''A Delicate Balance''. ''

Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

'' is displayed in Salem, and a pair of animal sculptures is displayed at the public library in Bend (''Otter Knot'' and ''Salmon Dance''). Chabre created the entrance gates to

Oregon Zoo The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo located in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, approximately southwest of downtown Portland. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi Ri ...

(formerly the Washington Park Zoo) in Portland. He also created the bronze bas-relief entry panels to the Multnomah County Building in Portland. His "Grove" bench is at Western Oregon University, Monmouth.

California

The city of

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

owns a Chabre sculpture, ''The Great Combine'', commissioned in 2009. Also in Stockton, the Joan Darrah Marina has 23 pieces created by Chabre: A large cast bronze and stainless steel bench, 12 water jet cut aluminum medallions on light poles lining the marina, and 10 cast bronze finials atop gateways to the boat slips.

References

External links

* * - shows Chabre at work in his studio {{DEFAULTSORT:Chabre, Wayne 1947 births Living people 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American sculptors 21st-century American male artists American male sculptors Artists from Portland, Oregon Artists from Walla Walla, Washington Gonzaga University alumni Peace Corps volunteers People from Estacada, Oregon Sculptors from Oregon Sculptors from Washington (state) People from Walla Walla County, Washington 20th-century American male artists