Artist Statement
The idea of combining contemporary sculpture and modern science with non-traditional materials is at the core of my work as an artist.
When I was growing up, in my high school chemistry class, I always equated the molecular formulas and structures with mythological animals. For example, alcohol (ethanol) looks like a dog with the 4 hydrogens as feet, a head of oxygen, nose of hydrogen, body of two carbons and a tail of hydrogen. My interest in molecular biology has culminated in large public pieces. Molecules represent the constant morphing and changing of form. For the project entitled ”Propane”, executed in bronze, the scale and material mislead the viewer away from the essence of a molecule: bronze is unbreakable and monumental, while molecules are infinitesimal and fragile.
My work very often references a sense of experimental playfulness. The rigidity of science, chemistry and physics is broken by a desire to reclaim as my own, and subsequently present to an audience. In some ways the final product becomes almost an esoteric experience.
For ”Ryoanji Mobile”, my inspiration was the Ryoanji dry landscape gardens in Kyoto. The gardens are located on the original site of a Zen Buddhist temple and it is a place of spiritual purification. My instinct was to recreate that sensation while actually elevating the Obsidian Lava rocks to appear weightless. The rocks rotate and orbit each other like planets. Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion have been instrumental to my work and inform my investigations in motion and form. The ellipse is the essence of ”Adze and Celt”, a project produced in Vermont marble. I fused the idea of Kepler’s Elliptical Motion with geometric formulas based on prehistoric hand tools. The final product consists of two 8 ton and 10 ton marble sculptures intended as resting places.
Although science may have definite truths, there is a mystery in the world that I try to convey in my work. This idea of mystery often provokes cynicism and fear. In ”Mask”, I attempt a convergence of natural beauty and human terror in a surrealist composition, a coconut and a gas mask. Cast in bronze, the piece literally fuses the two iconic objects, bringing together a sense of fear smothering vitality. The piece is limp and frozen yet radiates senseless panic.
In ”Shore Cottage 8 Bubbles”, a helium balloon installation series in Maine, the materials combined with the natural environment represent physical form and existence, but also impermanence and dissolution. Although these themes provoke a deeper conversation, by utilizing the balloon as the primary focus, the imagery still maintains a playful gesture and attitude.
I find myself constantly toying with visual connections between science and art, forcing them into a realm of senselessness and chaos. This work stimulates viewers into constructing their own understanding of contemporary concerns and questions which may be left without resolution.
