A Father-Son Collaboration 30 Years in the Making

Artist Randy Shull and his 91-year-old father, woodcarver Don Shull, will unveil Augmented Man, a colossal 22-foot fiberglass sculpture created in collaboration with nationally known large-scale sculptor Mark Cline. The work will be permanently installed at 22 London Road, a mixed-use artist studio and exhibition space in Asheville, North Carolina.

The project began with a small but meaningful object in 1996. At the age of 62, Don Shull carved an 18-inch wooden likeness of his son Randy, capturing everything from the artist's famously paint-splattered pants to the pencil clenched between his teeth. Nearly three decades later, that intimate wooden figure has been reimagined on a monumental scale.

To bring the sculpture to life, Randy worked with STEAM Studios at the University of North Carolina Asheville to produce 3D scans of the original carving, then presented them to Mark Cline — known nationally for his large-scale fiberglass roadside attractions. Cline translated Don's handmade figure into a towering outdoor sculpture, preserving the charm and character of the original while giving it a bold new public presence.

"I have always thought of my father as larger than life. Seeing his small carving transformed into something that towers above us has been a meaningful experience. I have dreamed of doing this for years and finally found someone who could interpret my idea into reality. From the age of three I worked side by side with him as he built houses in the Midwest — those skills were more important than anything I learned in art school." — Randy Shull

"I carved that little Randy because I was proud of him. I never imagined it would one day become 22 feet tall." — Don Shull

*"This project is a beautiful blend of family, craft, and imagination. It's rare to scale up something so personal and meaningful." *— Mark Cline

Randy Shull graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1986 with a BFA in furniture design and arrived in North Carolina as a resident artist at Penland School of Craft in 1987, where he remained until 1991.

The unveiling will take place on Saturday, June 20, 2026 at 3:00 pm at 22 London Road, Asheville, NC, where the sculpture will become a permanent landmark celebrating creativity, family legacy, and the spirit of Asheville's artistic community.

About the Artists

Don Shull was born in 1934 on a farm in rural Mt. Pulaski, Illinois. A former tool-and-die maker and carpenter, he took up woodcarving in retirement and has spent over 30 years developing a distinctive style rooted in craftsmanship, humor, and character studies. In 2024–2025, twenty-two of his carvings and whirligigs were featured in a year-long exhibition at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD. Don lives in Middletown, Illinois on five acres with his wife Sandy, where they maintain a large garden and hybridize daylilies. They have been married 70 years.

Mark Cline is a nationally recognized sculptor known for his Route 66 giants, roadside attractions, and large-scale works that blend pop culture, fantasy, and Americana. He operates Enchanted Castle Studios and Dinosaur Kingdom, his own theme park in White Post, Virginia.

Randy Shull is an artist and designer whose work spans painting, furniture design, and sculpture. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and can be found in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design (New York), the High Museum of Art (Atlanta), the Black Mountain College Museum, and the Asheville Art Museum. For 20 years, Shull has maintained studios in both Mérida, Mexico and Asheville, North Carolina. His most recent exhibition, I Have Never Worn a Watch, was presented in February 2026 at Alejandra Topete Gallery in Mexico City.