Rusted Painted Can...

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on July 3, 2013 at 8:19pm

Curator’s Comments:

 

I think more is more in this series utilizing malleable paint cans.  As units in a larger grid, interesting relationships start to emerge when they lose their individual identifies. There’s an implied reference to counting, or keeping track of small moments of time, as a sort of eccentrically modern abacus.  (I’ll try and suppress a joke about cans of beer on the wall.) But as they are, the beaten and weathered surfaces possess an overall elegant patina, while also embracing strong associations with trash and consumer driven disposability. I could see these pieces becoming even larger, in the tradition of contemporary African installation artist El Anatsui.  The original source of the containers isn’t hidden to enough of an extent to overcome their presence as found objects for the viewer, which is why I prefer the installations with more pieces.  The first work however (# 13) is particularly appealing because of the unexpected inclusions of bits of blue pigment running through the center of the structure.  They occur at regular enough intervals to imply the creation of a classification or logic within a recognized system. I also find it of note that the wall sculptures maintain this geometric regularity, and while haptically charged, they never fully succumb to the organic modulation on their two-dimensional support. They are particularly salient on the active surface in piece # 11.