Isaacs Art Center

Greg Pontius

Greg Pontius
Greg Pontius American (b. 1945) Greg Pontius was born in Washington where he developed a love for drawing. His high school offered a very extensive four-year wood and metal shop program that gave him a wonderful avenue for expression. In college, he studied fine arts in Evert Washington where he was allowed to express freely in oil painting, metal and wood sculpture, and glass blowing. Pontius painted large oils through the 1970's, but his love for mechanics and welding led him to create metal sculptures. He moved to Hawai’i in 1977 and quickly realized the wealth of locally grown hardwoods and focused his talents on wood sculptures. Pontius collects his wood himself, believing, it is one of the most important part of the project. He is widely known for his sea life sculptures of whales, dolphins, eels and turtles. Pontius has won the People's Choice Award many times, as well as the Artist's Choice Award at the Big Island Wood Exhibition. His work is in many private collections, from the United States and Canada to Europe and Japan. Greg is comfortable in a variety of mediums - stone, wood, glass, metal, plaster, plastic, etc. and new subjects are constantly emerging. There is a permanent bronze turtle sculpture at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, on the Island of Hawai’i.