Artist Statement - June 2012
Utilizing a layered palette of materials - clay, plaster, beeswax,oil paint - the body of sculpture TRELLIS establishes congealed surfaces that resemble membranes or skin. Specifically, the pinches, pulls, folds and various permutations in diverse surfaces such as resin-infused wax are organic abstractions that explore the pleasure and pain of the life-giving body. The body is seen as a vulnerable, imperfect state but one that is also strong, resilient, and incredibly transformative. By juxtaposing vulnerable tissue with natural elements, such as thorns, and by "containing" the surface in glass, Trellis suggests an inaccessible growth or transformation from within each mass. Tension between representation and abstraction develops as individual components are bonded, jointed, and draped together. While the forms reference molecular structures, botanical forms, and medical models, they do not mimic the organic; instead the work relies on an aesthetic of fantasy to resist definition. Further interruptions in cohesion and scale test the sense of texture and depth.