Taking on new form

Artist uses foam to create sculptures

Jim Miller/VIEWSculptures created by Sam Chinkes are made of foam, a medium he has been working with for 20-plus years. Jim Miller/ViewSam Chinkes said he conducts demonstrations at local schools and libraries to teach people how to create foam sculptures, such as the ones shown behind him. Advertisement

Sun City Summerlin resident Sam Chinkes paints in acrylics, but he sculpts in an unusual medium -- foam.

It's a product usually associated with packaging. He uses a specific type -- polyurethane foam -- that provides a base for holding artificial flowers.

"It's really messy," he said. "I have to wear a mask."

He sculpts abstracts and began experimenting with sculpting foam in the 1980s, something few artists were doing at the time. Actually, it seems few are doing it now. Although the results can be stunning, it is not well accepted in the art world, Chinkes said.

"Galleries will see pictures of it and like it," he said. "But the moment they find it's made of foam, there's a prejudice there."

He said he likes to show people how easy it is to sculpt and takes a block to various sites -- offering demonstrations at libraries and schools and for the Las Vegas Artist Guild. He challenges a handful of people to come up to the block of foam and cut, gouge or otherwise change the shape of the block. Then, he takes over, feverishly using his tools -- a regular kitchen knife, a file and a sculptor's wire tool -- much like a cheese cutter -- to work off the new shape. Finished pieces cost $200-$500.

Chinkes was an art major in high school, and he began his formal training in 1945, when he studied illustration under Reginald Marsh at the Art Students' League, New York, and industrial design at the Museum of Modern Art and the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

In 1962, he established Sound Advertising, an ad agency specializing in packaging, displays and exhibition design. Chances are, you've seen his packaging, used for everything from food to perfume to candy and cosmetics.

He and his wife, Eta, moved to Las Vegas in 1992.

His paintings are a more conventional vehicle for the Sun City Summerlin artist. He had an exhibit at Art and Coffee From the Heart, 4020 N. Tenaya Way, from April to May. The café promotes local artists.

"It was received as a unique type of art," said Mike Rachiele, co-owner of Art and Coffee From the Heart.

"I thought it was jazzy," added Larene, Rachiele's wife and business partner.

Chinkes' sculptures can be seen on his Web site at www.samchinkes.com.