Walter McConnell’s two major bodies of work strike at the core of human ambition—the desire to possess. More acquisitive than magpies, more daring than Prometheus, we shape and reshape our world through ownership—either physically (collecting and hoarding) or, if that fails, intellectually (ordering and classifying).
Gianluca Bianchino: Dispersing Form and Energy
Gianluca Bianchino has quietly made a name for himself as a sculptor in New York area circles. He has done so despite the fact that his studio remains in New Jersey; although, as he points out, he has made a point of moving closer to New York City, holding a studio first in Montclair—he received
Unnatural Histories of the Natural: A Conversation with Tomer Sapir
In July 2008, an animal carcass of unknown identity washed up on the shores of Ditch Plains, New York. This object, which became known as the “Montauk Monster,” has proved to be a major catalyst in the evolution of Tomer Sapir’s work.
Creative and Destructive Force: A Conversation with Andrea Mastrovito
Deep wisdom meets true child-like creativity in Andrea Mastrovito’s work. Eternal human questions-Who are we? From where do we come? Where are we going?-are raised and developed with honest simplicity, the only answer lying in an acceptance of the natural life cycle.
Dorie Millerson: The Matter of Scale
Think of string—of textiles—used in a sculptural way, and chances are you’ll hearken back to Eva Hesse and fiberglass-coated string pieces like Right After (1969) untidily looping down into space from hooks suspended in the ceiling; or what Lucy Lippard termed its “ugly” antecedent, Untitled (1970), an abstract snarl of latex-coated rope and string that
Personal Curiosity: A Conversation with Kiki Smith
Kiki Smith was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center in 2016. For a full list of Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, click here. Kiki Smith’s pencil hardly leaves the paper as she simultaneously answers questions, responds to a stream of assistants, and decides what to have for lunch.
Bernar Venet: Selling the Wind
Bernar Venet was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center in 2016. For a full list of Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, click here. When 26-year-old Bernar Venet met Marcel Duchamp in New York in 1967, he boasted that his works were more radical than those made by the father of the readymade.
Hunting for Stone: A Conversation with Lee Ufan
A fascinating book published in 2014 by the Fondazione Mudima in Milan documents Lee Ufan’s wanderings through the environs of Lombardy in search of stones—boulders, in fact—to be used as components in his “Relatum” series, along with plates of steel.
Geoff Bartlett: Where the Work Leads
Widely regarded as one of Australia’s foremost sculptors, Geoff Bartlett has no constant, identifiable style. And yet, regardless of the fact that he also uses a wide range of diverse media, the viewer has little difficulty in recognizing his distinctive sculptures since certain underlying characteristics have appeared in his work throughout his career.
Upside Down: A Conversation with Alex Sanson
“Upside down” is one way to describe Alex Sanson’s thought-provoking approach to art. In fact, he offers a fascinating case study for artists seeking a financially sustainable business model and a wider customer base. His practice of placing works beyond narrow art capitals and the professionalized art world infrastructure is also inspiring.
