Misty Woods #1

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on May 3, 2013 at 3:03pm

Curator’s Comment:

 

An unconventional sculptural relief, Misty Woods I calls into question basic expectations about nature and artificiality.  While recycled wood is noted as the support, the grain pattern carved into the surface is ironically contrived rather than purely enhanced.  The neutral colored acrylic paint adds another layer- physically and conceptually- to the outward plasticity of the abstracted image.  I like that the small tacks form a dotted line along the organic contouring of the incising lines, and are echoed in the obsessively articulated circular pattern on the raised areas. The work also reads as a chunky, abbreviated section of a larger whole. Ghost Trees II shares an interesting amalgamation of surfaces and subject.  While the stylized trees provide a more recognizable subject matter, they underscore the nature/ground relationship. In part because the actual wood grain is almost completely disguised, the “ghostly” nature of the trees (and title) also suggests loss or demise.