William Corwin – Flattening of Time

Pazuzu, 2018, hydrocal. Photo courtesy the artist

Experiencing William Corwin’s sculptures may resemble opening a time capsule filled with mysterious objects made of familiar materials like sand, rope, clay and wood. By drawing on references ranging from architecture to archaeology, totems to teeth, Corwin’s sculptures resonate with archaic civilizations — removed yet urgently present. William Corwin shares with Art Spiel what brought him to sculpture, takes a look at some of his projects, and sheds some light on his curatorial and art writing practices.

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Elisa Jensen: Gazing Inward

Elisa Jensen‘s imagery draws upon pre-historic narratives – ancient  rock art scattered in pristine Irish landscapes, a Danish bog person  sacrificed during the Iron age, or stone age burial mounds spotted in a Danish island.  Her paintings and sculptures bring to mind mysterious rites and myths salvaged from a forgotten ancient past or perhaps from the depth of our collective unconscious memory.  In her interview for Art Spiel Jensen shares some thoughts on her process, imagery, and context.

Elisa Jensen , Gold Boat detail, 2018, self drying clay, acrylic paint, gold leaf 2 x 7 inches, photo by Apiwich

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Shari Mendelson: The Beauty of Objects Left Behind

First Look: Shari Mendelson: Glasslike at UrbanGlass

Shari Mendelson, Walking Animal with Vessel in Net, 12″ x 6″ x 9″, Repurposed plastic, hot glue, acrylic polymer, metal, resin, paint, mica, 2018, photo credit: Polite Photographic

The glasslike sculptures in Shari Mendelson’s current exhibition at UrbanGlass conjure mythical narrative with an urgent sense of the present. Based on rigorous study, the artist draws upon primarily glass artifacts from ancient Rome and early Islam, to form imaginative, witty, and playful sculptures made of throwaway plastic bottles. While avoiding simple mimicking of ancient artifacts, Mendelson’s vases, urns, animals, and figures alike create forms and forge narratives that link present to past in fresh and multilayered ways, as the show curator Elizabeth Essner puts it – “the previous lives of her [Mendelson’s] materials emerge: the bottoms of bottles are reborn as faceted ornament, a milk jug becomes an animal, the visage of a figure appears, formed from the tiniest bits of plastic.” Continue reading “Shari Mendelson: The Beauty of Objects Left Behind”