EXPOSED in Stowe VT

This summer has been a whirlwind of activity with a new job as the Director of Education and Programs at Concord Art Association and several exhibition commitments that were promised in what seems like a millennium ago. So my time has been dedicated to the doing of it and not so much about the talking about it... Until today!

July 12 was the opening of Exposed an outdoor sculpture exhibition at the Helen Day Art Center in Stowe Vermont. The curators Samantha Cataldo, DJ Hellerman, and Amy Rahn selected a very interesting show with everything from 30 foot tall inflatables (Limppunklovejunk, Claire Ashley) to an inlaid braided rug out of ceramic tiles (Fictitious Force, Beka Goedde) and poetry revealed in a sequence of lawn signs along the recreation path (Meandering, Adria Arch).

I really am honored to be a part of this program this year with so many high quality entries. My installation RELIQUARY has evolved to include all my forgeries (Three assemblages: Stash I and II, Reliquary and 14 bronze balls of fiber). They're installed on a wide, low-hung branch that hangs over the width of the sidewalk on Main Street. 

These bronze sculptures are a trick in perception. Treated and painted to appear as if molded and cast in heavy bronze, they are in fact bundles of actual objects and very lightweight.   Their placement on a substantial but extended branch elicits a combined sense of curiosity and anxiety for those standing underneath. Curious how the branch is holding and anxious that the bronze may fall on top of them.

Bronzed sculptures installed in trees. Multiple assemblages tucked inside or wrapped around limbs, and attached to trunks. Each bundle contains items from the home - utensils, clothing, pillows, toiletries, toys, televisions and other artifacts of domestic life. Installing in a tree is symbolic of nests and shelters in nature.  Painted to appear as if cast in bronze to stand for a distinctive place and time and reinforce the notion that nothing is as it seems – much like the representations of material culture.

A special thanks to the Helen Day Art Center for organizing this very special show, especially the curator Rachel Moore and gallery manager Katharine Longfellow.