Vince has a strong interest in forms that show the relationship between past, present and future.

He draws from the relationship between ancient building forms and their similarity to contemporary architecture and furniture.

All of his work being ‘carved from a single block’, Vince believes there is an amorphous relationship between the contemporary and the prehistoric giving him a vast array of unified objects he desires to sculpt.


Vince Skelly is attracted to primitive objects and dolmens (megalithic structures). He is transfixed by how ancient stools and prehistoric tools look perfectly placed in the modern world. His primordial pieces can often be a puzzle in simplicity sitting in the studio for up to six months before he “solves it”.

Screen Shot 2019-06-06 at 12.33.08 PM.png

he begins by carving an aggressive shape and then uses gouges, chisels and grinders to refine the form.

Drawn to old things that look new and new things that look old, Vince’s ‘perfectly off’ sculptures reflect time in a way that communicates an object as ageless. Vince believes that mere beauty is superficial and in the end it is the spirit of an object that attracts us.


Making an object from something that already exists carries with it a special power. Found art, found timber, as well as simplicity of form create a sophistication. His pieces take on a shape and form that exist in the heart.


To Vince, a perfect home would have a mix of ancient and contemporary objects. This may be a reflection of his Sicilian roots, the mediterranean gateway between North African Tunisia and Southern Europe. Objects as simple, timeless and ubiquitous as an African birthing stool have had a profound influence on the way he views the potential of a block of wood.

In elementary school Vince played on a four foot tall, 35 foot wide sculpture made of massive heavy set letters sandwiched together at different angles making it the perfect obstacle to climb and instilling him with a passion to make fine art “one can touch”. Vince carries this influence with him to this day.


As a child, Vince built everything from skateboard ramps to treehouses. One might look at these objects today and see a sculpture more than a ramp or a wooden house and would more likely interpret them as art. Growing up, his father spoke to him endlessly about knowing ‘when to stop’ a creation and to recognize when it has ‘become itself’.