After a tough couple of years, my studio work emerges with a new exhibition showing new sculpture and prints made during this tumultuous time. It was not easy. Much of this work comes out of a desire (or frustration) to visually articulate my thoughts. These thoughts vacillated between hope and dread; anger and capitulation; abjection and conviction. Though each day was fairly monotonous there were wild swings from one state to another and it was exhausting; debilitating.
I asked questions about what I was doing. This is normally a good thing and necessary throughout one’s career. It was just difficult to run into this wall when studio productivity would be a much needed salve. Nevertheless, these questions led me to rethink what kind of objects and experiences I wanted to create with my work. Sometimes the lack of answers left me with little inspiration to go on. I had to use this time to make some things and have time to sit with them; process them. it is not unusual for me to live with parts around me in the studio while i work through ideas. I need to reflect with these little “notes” around. They don’t make sense until I know them better. Slowly and surely, the parts accumulated and began to speak: A concrete structure, a wrecking ball form made from paper, a branch ensnared in medusa-like rebar, a man’s back in porcelain lace.
Hanging in the Balance is what they have been doing for me these past two years. They have witnessed my imbalance. They create the bridges between the wild swings and as a collection of forms, objects and materials they convey the complexities and contradictions that we have to hold.