Another Juried Show Award

For this year's Art Hop in Burlington, VT, I submitted my piece Celebration for the outdoor juried show. It had been on display at the Vermont Arts Council in Montpelier for a couple of years but that exhibit had run its course so I was happy to find another location, which turned out to be in front of Lake Champlain Chocolates on Pine Street.

Celebration
northern white cedar and metal hardware
47" x 152" x 152"
2011

The exhibit was juried by Pavel Zoubok, of his eponymous Chelsea gallery, so I was doubly pleased to be awarded second place and receive my second Art Hop juried show award. I try not to put to much value in juried shows, but I can't say that the recognition isn't nice and I'm certainly not going to complain about the cash prize either.

Be Very Selective

I just installed my outdoor juried show submission for this year's Burlington Art Hop on Friday. It is the most conceptual piece I've ever made but I tried my best to make it aesthetic as well. 

Be Very Selective Before Entering; Choose Wisely Before 

Looking Out; Make An Even More Careful 

Consideration Before Exiting 

wood and paint

84" x 48" x 41"

2012

©Robert Hitzig

 Be Very Selective . . . (second side)

 Be Very Selective . . . (third side)

My hope is that people will interact with it. I'd like to see both children and adults climbing in, looking out, and being involved with it somehow. I'll consider the piece a success if it happens. I didn't realize how playful primary colors are until I finished it, so I am real happy with the paints (though, if I weren't using paints I had handy, I probably would use a brighter yellow). When I was inside, I also felt it had both playful and meditative/contemplative presence but I'm anxious to see if that actually comes through for other viewers as well.

Addendum: September 12, 2012

Success! To my surprise, I found that children seemed to love the sculpture. Whenever I went by it over the weekend, during the Art Hop, I found children attracted to it and climbing all around it. In addition, I had numerous conversations with people who said they saw children in and around it. Glad to see some people still know how to have fun.

Be Very Selective ... (in use)

September 8, 2012

Exceptional Wood Art @ Art Hop

This year's Art Hop in Burlington, VT was another successful event, perhaps the best yet. I'm amazed that in a such a small state, someone can organize an art event that includes well over 500 artists, over 100 studios and make-shift galleries, and draw tens of thousands art enthusiasts. I also love how it seems to be such a Vermont-ish event in that it is so egalitarian, everyone one is welcome and can find a space to display work. And artist of all levels do, successful professional artists can be seen right next to novices (many of whom are also very good). You know you won't like everything, in fact, you might not like most of what you see, but you never know what to expect and there are so many surprising gems, works by artists you've never heard of, that it is worth it to endure the marathon march it takes to see a majority of the work (seeing everything is not realistic for normal human beings).

I started on Friday, September 9, at 2:30 (two hours before the start) and finished at 10:00 and still hadn't seen close to everything but, coincidentally, I found the best wood art at both the beginning and end (I returned on Saturday and looked for a couple more hours but still didn't get to every venue, although, I have to admit, seeing all the venues would be infinitely easier if I didn't know anybody).

One of my first stops was Select Design, a brand development company, which always has high quality work in their space. I hadn't checked the show guide because it is too overwhelming to look through so I was completely surprised and very pleased to find that BigTown Gallery, of Rochester, VT, was exhibiting a number of their artists there, including Hugh Townley and Duncan Johnson.

Townleyberrybush

cedar threaded on metal
1960-62
Hugh Townley

Mrs. Crowlady
mahogany on painted base
1998-2006
Hugh Townley

I had previously seen this piece, A Brief History of Haley's Comet, at Hugh's retrospective show at the Fleming Museum a couple of years ago but this viewing gave me a chance to look at it more closely and seen how he constructed it. There are a lot of things I like about this piece, but what I really love is the wormy mahogany at the bottom which I assume plays the role of stars in this composition. The holes are so large that they look like they were drilled out but the lack of tear out along with some horizontal borings make me think that it could only have been done by some very large bugs.

A Brief History of Haley's Comet
mahogany relief
1984
Hugh Townley

There was also this plywood tondo that seems to be some kind of hieroglyphic story which I find indecipherable but I like the contrast between the commonness of the material and the fine craft that was used to construct it. (my image of this piece isn't great because of the lighting but you can view a professional version here).

Tondo 8
plywood relief
2000
Hugh Townley

With Michigan Avenue, it again seems that Hugh is telling a story that I can't decipher, but from the title I can hazard a guess it has something to do with a trip to Chicago.(Again, my image isn't great but you can find a better one here.)

Michigan Avenue
plywood relief
1999
Hugh Townley

Like Hugh, Duncan Johnson's paintings combine inexpensive (actually free) materials with fine craft. As I mentioned in a previous post, Duncan finds discarded wood at his local landfill or nearby construction sites.

What I love most about his work is looking at the wonderful colors people have used in their homes and how it generates so many questions. I wish they all came with a story -- the history of the house, the painter, where the color was used, the families that selected or lived with it -- but with a complete lack of information, my mind is left to wonder/wander all on its own. The colors in this one, Pilot House, I find exceptional, the range of blues, the pink, peach, reds, and then that one lime/yellow below the pink and green blue -- it seems like it was destined for art because I can't believe it ever made any sense inside or outside a house.

Pilot House
found wood, nails, and graphite
Duncan Johnson

Duncan also uses a lot of different size nails in his pieces, meticulously placed along vertical and diagonal lines. There are many more nails than could conceivably be needed to hold the piece together so that they become a form of decoration, bejeweling the wood. By using a range in sizes (I believe including 17, 18, 20, 21 and 23 gauge) they have the effect of giving the pieces a starry quality, especially on a darker piece like this one.

Shepards Gate
found wood, nails, and graphite
Duncan Johnson

With Winter's Weight, and a number of his other paintings, there is an interesting play between background colors and the dynamic, surprising ones. I find that my eyes spend a lot of time on specific colors, jumping around looking for the ones I like best. In this one, I really focus on the pinks and blues. (I had to photograph this one from an angle because of a barrier, you can see a professional image on Duncan's website here.)

Winter's Weight

found wood, nails, and graphite
Duncan Johnson

Filter Fall is a newer piece in which he didn't use any nails (a profession image of this piece is here.)

Filter Fall
found wood
Duncan Johnson

There were also a number of furniture artists in the same show. Lars Larsen and Rolf Kielman, a studio furniture maker and architect team, displayed a few of their production prototypes, with models of the design process, first with paper, then cardboard, then plywood. There chair and table are supposed to assemble without any hardware and can be shipped flat. Very elegant and economical designs.

Lars Larsen and Rolf Kielman

Lars Larsen and Rolf Kielman

When I first saw this display from Modern Vermont, I thought the plywood sheet behind the chairs was the art and was actually a little disappointed to realize it was the CNC cutouts for the chairs in the front of the display. Again, a very economical design that is jazzed up with the colorful side panels.

Lincoln Brown
Modern Vermont

In stark contrast to the production furniture on display, there was also this intelligently minimalist hand-made curly birch table by Eyrich Stauffer.

curly birch
Eyrich Stauffer

My final stop of the night was RL Photo, where I found Clark Derbes' wonderful wood sculptures. He doesn't use any expensive equipment or elaborate techniques to make them. They are intentionally primitive in their construction (his primary tool is a chain saw) which may result in casual observers overlooking their playful sophistication.

Time Traveler
wood and paint
Clark Derbes

I needed to include a lot of images of each piece because one would be pointless. You really need to see them from multiple angles to get a sense of what is going on.

Time Traveler
wood and paint
Clark Derbes

This sculpture, Time Traveler, has twelve sides, cut at random angles, that, along with the recurring geometric paintings, results in an optical effect that dramatically changes the piece as the viewer moves around it. It actually seems to jump between two and three dimensions, and, unlike most sculpture, it gives a sense of being a completely different work when looked at from even a slightly different angle.

Time Traveler
wood and paint
Clark Derbes

In addition to being optically surprising, the primitive nature of their construction adds to their playfulness.

The Three R's
wood and paint
Clark Derbes

Although cleaned up a bit with a palm sander, the chainsaw leaves deep gouges and, to ensure an informality, he rubs dirt in them between coats of paint. The effect is to make them approachable and joyful.

The Three R's
wood and paint
Clark Derbes

Standing Room (left) and Elbow Room (right)
wood and paint
Clark Derbes

Standing Room (left) and Elbow Room (right)
wood and paint
Clark Derbes

Clark's unpainted Solid Box could probably be mistaken for a bench but given the amount of fun and informality that he imbues in his work, I'd guess that he wouldn't mind if it were used that way. Being that it is made of ash, I doubt you would hurt it and he'd probably like the effects wear would have on the wood (not that I'm recommending you sit on it, I'm a firm believer in the policy of always asking before touching the art).

Solid Box
ash
Clark Derbes

Solid Box
ash
Clark Derbes

This final piece, Hollow Red Form 2011, doesn't create the same optical effects as the others but it is also clearly made with a playful spirit. It makes me think of a child's toy, but not one of those boringly perfect factory-made toys, rather something constructed by a child in a time when imagination and spirit was all that was need to have fun.

Hollow Red Form 2011

carved and polychrome pine
Clark Derbes

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get this post up early enough to encourage people to make it to this year's Art Hop (most of the work comes down at the end of September) but I strongly recommend it as a future destination. It is a truly great art event in being so open and welcoming to all kinds of people whatever their level of art sophistication or financial means. Anyone, from a child with a tooth fairy's bank roll to a serious collector with a corporate credit card, can find art that they can afford and appreciate for a lifetime.

Sawhorse Horses Installed for Art Hop

I just installed my Sawhorse Horses in Burlington for the Art Hop. They were on display last summer in Stowe, VT and if they don't sell by the end of this exhibit (which lasts until the end of September) they will be installed in front of the Vermont Arts Council here in Montpelier for two years. After today, I really don't look forward to taking them down and reinstalling them (it took about 3.5 hours to put them together) but both locations are great exposure and it will be nice not having to work on them for a couple of years. I also think it would be real groovy to see them covered in snow!
They are in front of the Maltex Building at 431 Pine Street, right across from the SEABA office, and, no, there isn't a train that uses the tracks currently.
I got a pretty good response for them while putting them together, although one guy wanted to know if they were dogs!?! Thankfully, a woman who was biking by a little later stopped to say "I love your horses!" I had to double check to make sure she didn't think they looked like dogs, which she assured me they didn't, so my fragile ego was assuaged.
I like this picture (above) the best.
I had hoped that the wood would have dried out a lot during the past year, and they would have, therefore, been easier to put together, but in storing them in a basement, I think they actually gained moisture since last summer. If they do sell in the next month, I think I'll build a dinosaur of some sort with the same materials for the Arts Council exhibit.

Belated Praise

Back in September, during the Burlington Art Hop, I came across these two great wood sculptures by Waterbury (Vermont) artist, Nori Morimoto, Volcano, made with bird's-eye maple and Wave, made with ash.

Volcano
bird's-eye maple

With Volcano, he has created a landscape that is both natural looking and other-worldly. It reminds me of a moonscape or perhaps the surface of a distant planet. Bird's-eye maple was a good choice for this type of sculpture because the "eye's" really stand out, adding extra texture to the surface. I'm sure he sandblasted the surface to get the effect and, based on a similar piece on his website, I believe he ebonized the left side by burning it. The quality of the bird's-eye maple is exceptional. Any woodworker would have loved to have gotten a hold of it, so it is great that it wasn't turned into a boring piece of furniture.

Volcano (close-up)

I find Wave to be aesthetically interesting and technically confusing. I love the contrast between the light/dark and the waves/blocks; the randomness of how it alternates between waves, blocks, straight lines, and gaps;

Wave
ash

that there are enough gaps on the right side to see the wood grain underneath; and the lack of fastidiousness, that imperfections are part of the art.

Wave (close-up front)

But what I guess I find most interesting is mystery of how he created the waves. I have one idea but I don't really think it would work and I'm torn between wanting to know and thinking it would be better to just be mystified.

Wave (close-up right)

New Work/Images for Fall 2010

Here are new images of my work. I have three new wood sculpture, including a new flag, and five new shellac paintings. I had been calling my wood sculptures shellac paintings but as they have become more sculptural and as I have developed a new series that are really shellac paintings, I have had to adjust my terminology. Hopefully, the change isn't too confusing.

This one, On Edge, is made with the same lumber as Fear Not, Fall Not that I finished earlier in the year. As you can see, the figure is phenomenal in both, something of a cross between a curly and quilted maple. I used the direction of the curl/quilt as a rough guide for the end angles. You can't see from this image but each of the boards are slightly different thicknesses, ranging from about 5/8" to 7/8". It can hang in any of the four 90 degree directions but I've settled on this one for no particular reason.

On Edge
shellac on curly maple and cherry
28.5" x 34" x 1"

Peaches and Pears, below, is made with a highly figured board of curly maple. I thought I got such as great deal on the lumber -- it was marked down to $1.65/board-ft, which is about one quarter what one would usually pay for figured maple and which I figured was due to the numerous knots (which I particularly liked). However, what I didn't pay for in cash at the lumber yard I paid for 10-fold in labor. The figure is so intense that it was like working end grain the entire length of the board. Not only did I have to take extra care to prevent and fix tear-out, but it soaked up shellac like nothing else I have ever worked with.

Peaches and Pears

shellac on curly maple, cherry, and epoxy
16.5" x 54" x 0.5" Peaches and Pears (close-up)

I also finished a new flag. I had posted an image of this one months ago but after looking at it a while decided I the blue sections needed more contrast between each other and the red stripes needed to be more peachy so I took it apart (removing all 160 screws) and modified it. I'm happy with it now (I hope for good), I have no desire to take it apart again. I also decided I prefer this orientation.

Chevron Flag

shellac on curly maple, curly yellow birch, bird's-eye maple
53" x 34" x 1"

As you can see from the side view, the different pieces are off-set with the curly birch being the thinnest (about 3/4").

Chevron Flag (side-view)

I've also continued to explore the new shellac painting series and I feel that it has finally advanced beyond the experimental phase into something that I consider to have great potential for creating unique and interesting contemporary paintings. One of the things I love about it is how it captures the history of everything you have done up until the time it is finished. Every layer, every color, every coat remains visible in the final piece. It is very time consuming and frustrating (because it often feels like I'll never be able to finish the piece I'm working on) but I feel it is worth it because the effect is so unique. One unique effect is how it highlights the texture of the coats of gesso. By brushing each coat on at 90 degree angles to the previous coat it creates a textile effect in the final piece. Without the shellac the variance in ridge and valleys don't appear significant but as soon as you start brushing on the shellac they suddenly become visual mountains with valleys that appear to be impossible to fill. When the surface does finally become flat, it has a cloth-like look (unfortunately, I've found this to be impossible to capture with images).

I named this one, And Most Positive, from what a Ukrainian friend was saying about the piece when she first saw it. In addition to thinking that this one has a very positive energy, she also thought it belonged in The Museum of Modern Art (she had visited it recently and was very disappointed with there contemporary exhibits). I didn't argue with her about its relative quality but I did have a hard time convincing her that I couldn't just submit an image for their review.

And Most Positive
shellac on board
35" x 29"

One of the amazing things about working with shellac as a painting medium is its sensitivity. Even after coating the baltic birch plywood with five coats of gesso and numerous heavy coats of clear shellac, the grain pattern of the plywood is visible in the final piece.

Six Yellow Rectangles
shellac on board
24" x 29"

Here is a close-up example.

Six Yellow Rectangles (closeup)

Blue
shellac on board
27" x 21.5"

Here is another example, it is much more visible in person.

Blue (close-up)

With these two next pieces that I had done earlier, my technique was a little different and the grain pattern isn't as visible.

Random Colored Lines
shellac on board
33" x 14.5"

As I mentioned earlier, I entered this piece, Watermelon, into the Art Hop's juried show. Though I was surprised last year to win with Three Days in September, I was equally surprised that I didn't win this year with this one. I think it is a fantastic piece, one might even say that it is the greatest painting of the nascent 21st Century. I'm trying to be as objective as possible.

Watermelon
shellac on board
44" x 44"

Fall 2010 Show Schedule

I have three shows scheduled for this fall. They include:

Burlington Art Hop - September 10 and 11
I have entered this new shellac painting, Watermelon, in the juried show which can be viewed at the Soda Plant at 266 Pine Street. I will also be debuting the rest of my shellac painting (eight more pieces) at the SEABA office space at 404 Pine Street where they will be on display through the end of September.

Watermelon
shellac on board
45" x 45"
2010

Paradise City Northampton - October 8-10

CraftWestport - November 20-21

I will just be bringing my wood sculptures to the Northampton or Westport shows because I find it is too confusing to display both series in the same small space. I'll post images of the new work soon.