THE REFUGEES

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on December 28, 2023 at 6:57pm

Curator’s Comments:

Thank you for sharing this new sculpture The Refugees to the site, and asking for my thoughts.  It really is incredible- and quite a departure from what I recognize as your signature style geometric constructions.  The more organic hammered forms take on a Brutalist aesthetic that celebrate an unabashedly raw use of materials in the spiked formations. As the many projections soften at the end, they take on characteristics of individual beings within the larger mass. These formal qualities are particularly appropriate in the context of your stated inspiration.  I’m glad you kept the stone base close to the color of the figurative spikes, as they virtually rise out of the sculptural space while symbolically connecting to their ground.  While the scale of this piece is relatively small, I can imagine it as a large work, with each figurative spike taking on more of a human presence, and confronting the viewer with their imposed anonymity. I truly appreciate this new turn in your studio practice, and hope this sculpture moves you to create more work around this tragically prevalent human condition.

Comment by DENNIS A. DEZMAIN on December 28, 2023 at 3:03pm