Local wood sculptor continues to highlight nature through abstract art

After moving into Docklands as part of the Renew Docklands shopfront activation program, artist and sculptor Lucas Guilbert is leaving the lights of his studio on permanently following the initiative’s end.

Originally from Canada, the wood sculptor found his home in Docklands after NewQuay developer MAB Corporation, the City of Melbourne, and Renew Australia partnered to create the program which helped him find the “perfect space” he wanted. 

Mr Guilbert’s work can commonly be described as abstract or fine art, and he excels in both outdoor and indoor sculptures. 

The majority of his work is “nature inspired”, and Mr Guilbert said he was really interested in the relationship between the wild and tamed, and the civilised and natural. 

“I try to bring nature into our lives through my art,” he said. 

Since joining the program in late 2022, Mr Guilbert has found the process of opening the studio rewarding, telling Docklands News that the reception he had received had been “super friendly and welcoming”. 

“I did wonder what it would be like to be in this part of the city, but I have had a lot of locals coming by,” he said. 

“The space has become more like a showroom where people can come and see what I do and how I work, and then if they want a particular work made bigger or smaller, I can make it for them.”

The studio is not your typical polished, white-walled gallery, but Mr Guilbert wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“This is where I sculpt and also where I exhibit my sculptures, and part of my ethos for the space was to make it real because art isn’t clean or organised, it goes in waves,” he said. 

“At times it’s very polished, my sculptures are lit, and it’s clean, and at other times you walk in and there are half finished sculptures, and wood chips on the ground; it is about trying to find this strange middle ground of being an attractive yet real space.”

No matter what Mr Guilbert is working on, he wants Docklanders and visitors to know that the door is always open, and he is always happy to pre-organise a meeting. 

A section of the studio can also be accommodated for any local artists interested in having somewhere to explore their own artistic style, and Mr Guilbert is currently considering requests. 

“There is so much talent in our nation, and in our suburb, and I am eager to showcase it in my studio,” he said. 

As for his own wood sculptures, while the studio acts as a showroom, his website also showcases many of his works. 

The Lucas Guilbert studio can be found at Retail 0008, Escala, 381 Docklands Drive. •

For more information: 

lucasguilbert.com