Date of Submission

Spring 2023

Academic Program

Studio Arts

Project Advisor 1

Arthur Gibbons

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Whether it be in a single sculpture or a large installation, I seek to create a reciprocal relationship between the viewer and my work, making the audience feel as though they are living amongst the sculptures, sensing each piece’s emotions and intentions. By working at full scales that mimic those of our everyday lives, I attempt to personify each piece and imply a sort of sentience within them. I want each individual viewer to have their own idea of how a piece might move or act once unfrozen from its place in the gallery. Each piece in my show is making a certain gesture or motion, whether it be literal, like the beckoning gesture of the hands growing from the wall, or simply directional, like that of the serpentine wooden growth from the ceiling down to the floor.

In my past work, I have often felt a strong compulsion to work very literally, usually with a distinct vision of what it is I want the final product to look like. In the past six months, I have ventured out of that structured approach to art-making and begun to embrace abstraction, which I feel has imbued more life into my work, making it seem as if it has more of a mind of its own.

An aspect of my work that I believe is just as important as the pieces themselves is how they are installed in the gallery space. To fully achieve the engaging and playful feeling that I work towards, I need to make sure that any seams, brackets, or pegs that may take the life out of the pieces are properly masked. I want the metal human to seem as though it has just made contact with the ground after falling from a staggering height. I want the hands and feet on the wall to be actively emerging. I want the tangle of wooden shards to be mid-slither, crawling across the floor. This complementary relationship between the architecture of the gallery space and the pieces themselves contributes to the animated quality of the work. By seamlessly installing these pieces, there is a feeling of movement that is activated, giving endless potential to the “story” behind each piece.

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Creative Commons License

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