Anna Koh-Varilla, Jeffrey Hanson Varilla, and the Koh-Varilla Guild

Anna and Jeffrey Varilla have been collaborating on commissioned works of sculpture since 1986. Their work is realistic, employing a natural, practical artistic vocabulary informed by centuries of Western art. They find classic realism to be their preferred vehicle for the exploration human psychological intent, allowing them to communicate directly as well as enabling them to make a statement relevant to the contemporary human condition.

Anna began her education in Seoul, Korea, when, at the age of twelve, she was among 120 Korean students accepted for specialized training in the fine arts. Since that time she has been continuously engaged in the study and practice of the visual arts, particularly sculpture. She believes her current work and the Koh-Varilla Guild to be the fulfillment of her professional career.

Anna has been teaching regularly for eight years. She has helped many artists develop their abilities in sculpting the portrait and figure, and a number of her students have gone on to execute commission sculpture work of their own.

Jeffrey has studied art history with a concentration on the Renaissance and the 17th Century. He has had many years of professional experience in painting and sculpture. Scrupulous attention to detail, high standards in the selection of materials and love for the Old Masters have been trademarks of his work. He has also worked in fine art restoration for almost a decade, which he cites as invaluable to the technical mastery he has achieved. In his own original work, Jeffrey maintains a forward- thinking approach to art, yet an approach rooted in the technical insights of the artistic past.

The Koh-Varilla Guild was established in 1990, and is a working art studio as well as a center for artists to develop an understanding of portrait and figure sculpture, and of the tools and techniques of the classic realist tradition. Although the Koh-Varilla Guild is neither a school nor a "School", classes are offered on a regular basis in portrait and figure modeling, moldmaking and casting, anatomy, surface techniques, and drapery study.

Together Anna and Jeffrey have fulfilled numerous portrait commissions by balancing their artistic viewpoints and thereby creating seamless and extraordinary works. They strive to foster a collaborative relationship between artist and patron, in order to create an end result that is both relevant and artistically meaningful. Anna and and Jeffrey also work independently of each other and each maintains a portfolio of their own unique and remarkable artistic creations.