Stone and Snow by Christopher Curtis

Stone and Snow by renowned local sculptor Christopher Curtis is a striking 5-piece winter exhibition honoring the 75th anniversary of the Trapp Family Lodge in 2025. Set against the breathtaking alpine backdrop of the Green Mountains, the collection brings together the timelessness of stone with the fleeting beauty of snow, creating a visual dialogue between endurance and ephemerality. Curtis’ large-scale sculptures reflect both the rugged strength of the natural world against the backdrop of the delicate intricacies of winter, drawing inspiration from the resilience of the Lodge's unique history and rich heritage as well as the seasonal and elemental forces that have shaped its storied existence. Each piece invites visitors to reflect on the intertwining of nature, craftsmanship, and the enduring legacy of the Trapp Family Lodge. 

Christopher Curtis was born and grew up in Stowe.  He has wandered the hills of Vermont collecting stone his whole life and has been making sculpture for more than 50 years often using the abundant and rich resource of Vermont stone.  Paralleling his stone sculptures are metal fabrications he makes in stainless steel or bronze.   He continues to make sculpture for private collectors, commercial projects, memorials and public works from his Duxbury, Vermont studio.

All works are for sale, contact ccurtis@stowevt.net. Inquiries for commissions are welcome.


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Beneath the Surface

Serpentine Boulder
42” x 42” x 37” 

2023

Recovered in Stowe, VT

We often think we know what we see. But there’s always another, deeper layer.  The outside layer of this stone is evidence of its long history in the form of a boulder.  It was likely broken out of bedrock by glacial ice.  Millions of years before that, the bedrock serpentine formation floated up from deep in the earth. Long before that, it formed when subducting tectonic plates dragged seawater toward the mantle. All of this lies millions of years beneath the surface of this stone.  I find that many things have layers that are not immediately evident.

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Window

Glacial Boulder
54”x 36”x 36"

2006

Recovered in Waterbury, VT

In literature and art, the window has long been used as a metaphor for deeper seeing, a way to consider what lies beyond.  Here a polished circular void reveals the heart of the stone and invites viewers to peer through the iconic shape. In this bucolic setting, "Window" draws the gaze and invites contemplation. I like this sculpture for its friendly approachability and the simplicity of design.

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Thought Cage

Granite, Steel
8’ x 2’6” x 2’6”

2019

Quarried in Barre, VT 

Can one capture and cage a thought?  Or become trapped in the prison of our own beliefs? Thought Cage is about escaping the perils of narrow mindedness. The viewpoints from any of the windows are all different and all equally true, inviting viewers to consider other points of view.

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Sanctuary

Red Marble Boulder, Granite
7’ x 11’ x 5’
2024

 

Recovered in Shelburne, VT

The pink stone in this sculpture is early Cambrian dolostone, a first cousin of marble, formed from skeletons of countless millions of sea creatures accumulating on a shallow ancient sea floor a half a billion years ago.  The boulder that eventually broke out of that bedrock and became the sculpture is unusual in shape and soundness. It has been tumbled, shaped, and smoothed by millennia of glacial ice.  On the unaltered exterior are 11,000-year-old striae of various sizes, directions, and friction polish from glacial transport.   I invite you to feel that ancient surface.

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Gnomon II

Slate, Gold Leaf, Stainless Steel, Black Granite
10’7” x3’ x3’

2016

Quarried in Poultney, VT

The idea of time, and our place in it, has always interested me.  On a sundial the gnomon is the projection that shows the time by the position of its shadow.  Although "Gnomon II" does not literally show the time of day, the gold references the sun. It stands as a powerful totem honoring time.