Louis DeAngelis Jr.
Lou grew up in Wall, New Jersey, where he originally learned stone masonry from his Italian, Irish and Scottish elders. It was here that he started his own masonry company, which served as the basis for his love affair with stone. In 1992, Lou took a hiatus from his masonry company and moved to Boulder, Colorado, to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional downhill mountain bike racer. He quickly became an integral part of the budding new sport by appearing in Rolling Stone magazine, MTV Sports, CBS Sports Spectacular, the first X Games, Adventure Quest on Outdoor Life Network and the Everest Imax. After his cycling career Lou returned to his masonry roots and started DeAnge Masonry, which has been in operation for more than twenty-five years.
Stone masonry has always been Lou’s artistic canvas but after he broke his neck in 2005, he was forced to rest and recuperate, a task far greater than lifting any stone. Not one of languid manner, Lou started to use what parts of his body he could. He began carving wood on his living room couch and while he was intrigued with wood he has always loved the integrity and longevity of stone. After a full recovery, Lou took to stone once again but this time with a different purpose.
In 2005, Lou met and befriended Madeline Wiener, the founder and director of The Marble Institute of Colorado. She encouraged him to come to the Marble Marble Sculpting Symposium. In 2006, he took her advice and attended the symposium and fell deeper in love with all the possibilities that stone possessed and the way in which stone was beginning to sculpt him.
“Carving stone has given me a greater understanding of the physical world and life. As I carve and remove material I know it cannot be put back. The same is true of life. When the moment has passed, it is gone and you must move on as well.”
It's quite evident that Lou's two disciplines are closely intertwined. His masonry is undoubtedly artistic and his sculpture is fatefully masonry.
In 2005, Lou met and befriended Madeline Wiener, the founder and director of The Marble Institute of Colorado. She encouraged him to come to the Marble Marble Sculpting Symposium. In 2006, he took her advice and attended the symposium and fell deeper in love with all the possibilities that stone possessed and the way in which stone was beginning to sculpt him.
“Carving stone has given me a greater understanding of the physical world and life. As I carve and remove material I know it cannot be put back. The same is true of life. When the moment has passed, it is gone and you must move on as well.”
It's quite evident that Lou's two disciplines are closely intertwined. His masonry is undoubtedly artistic and his sculpture is fatefully masonry.