“Critics frequently refer to my work as ‘spiritual.’ Yet I’m less interested in spirituality than in the unexplainable, which you feel more than see. To be clear, I’m not trying to be mystical, nor am I consciously avoiding it. And though I am very concrete and use very concrete materials, I do not intend my work to be ‘explainable.’ Feeling is more important for me than anything formulaic.”
Gathering of Waters, An Invitation to Know Your River: Basia Irland
How can art convey the interconnectedness that is so central to ecology both as science and cultural theory? And how can artists nudge viewers to become active participants, not just onlookers or consumers of beautiful images?
Charting Time and Space: Michelle Stuart
In a quiet corner of Michelle Stuart’s SoHo studio, a sculpted Buddha presides over a Wunderkammer of curiosities. Pre-Columbian sculptures, African ceremonial beads, a seaman’s log, rocks, and odd pods comfortably cohabitate with other exotic oddities.
Competing Against Reality: A Conversation with Urs Fischer
On a March afternoon, while preparing for a mid-career retrospective, Swiss artist Urs Fischer is modeling a bust at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s (MOCA) Geffen Contemporary in Los Angeles. Assorted clay sculptures—crocodiles, hands, ships—cover the floor.
Concentrated: A Conversation with Johan Creten
This conversation took place in March of 2010 at Johan Creten’s “Dark Continent” exhibition at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin in Paris. Having made fundamental breakthroughs in the field of stoneware in terms of virtuosity, imagery, and scale, the Belgian artist, who refuses to sit still, is now displacing the boundaries of what is possible and acceptable
Lim Dong-Lak’s: Geometry of Light
Korean sculptor Lim Dong-Lak, who divides his time between Busan and Paris, creates large-scale stainless steel forms that occupy time as well as space and affect the light in their environs. Last summer, nine of his sculptures (dating from 1996 to 2009) appeared on the Lido outside Venice.
Releasing Spirits: A Conversation with Eileen MacDonagh
Born in County Sligo, Eileen MacDonagh studied art at the Institute of Technology, Sligo and Limerick School of Art. In 1982, she attended an International Sculpture Conference in San Francisco, where she was first introduced to the idea of sculpture symposia.
Political by Nature: A Conversation with Nnenna Okore
Sometimes an artist’s use of materials is in itself political, as in the case of Nnenna Okore. Born in Australia and raised in Nsukka, a town in southeastern Nigeria, she explores a range of artistic materials and influences, creating installations and sculptures made of clay and found as well as handmade paper.
Sculpting the Void: A Conversation Lucía Vallejo
Lucía Vallejo began her career as an art historian. The subject of her research, Giorgione, foreshadowed the path of her later artistic trajectory, which follows a deep interest in symbolism and late Renais?sance and Baroque color.
Edge is Important: A Conversation with Anthony Caro
Earlier this year, I sat down with my longtime friend Sir Anthony Caro in his London studio. The idea was simple: Would it be interesting to generate a conversation between two sculptors whose work is very different, but who share many common influences?
