David Opdyke grew up Schenectady, New York, once known as a beacon of American industry. “The City that Lights and Hauls the World” was home to Thomas Edison’s Machine Works, G.E. and ALCO. Coming of age in the 1970’s, Opdyke witnessed the rapid decline of manufacturing and nature’s subsequent takeover of a city’s abandoned architectural remains. Those images of transformation and decay permeate his sculpture today.

Working with an obsessive attention to detail, Opdyke creates immersive art that both delights and disturbs. Hyperrealistic models, intricate sculptures of detritus and civilization’s waste, and monuments to failed governmental policies comprise much of his work. Opdyke meticulously handcrafts each sculpture, creating intricate worlds of cryptic symbols, political metaphors, and freakish hybridity.