Clark Derbes' Shapescapes @ Helen Day Art Center

Since seeing Clark Derbes' wood sculptures this summer at the Burlington Art Hop, I've been a big fan. So I was really looking forward to his solo show at the Helen Day Art Center in Stowe, VT and I'm happy to say I haven't been disappointed. Clark calls this new series of wood sculptures "Shapescapes." I asked him why and all he said was that it is the name that stuck. I can see his point, their erratic, warped cuts, and random angles makes me think that the piece is changing form in front of my eyes. It is an uneasy feeling as if I'm looking into a world in which I have know idea what I'll see around the corner. Each movement creates a shift in perception so that you are continually looking at a new sculpture as you move around a piece. It is very different than any other sculpture that I've ever seen. As a result, I've needed to post many more images than I normally would so that readers can get at least a small sense of what the pieces are about. 

I'm particularly captivated by Time Traveler III. Being on a pedestal and being able to walk around it accentuates its dramatically different viewpoints.

Time Traveler III

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler III

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler III

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler III

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Looking at these five images now, it is hard for me to believe that they are all of only one sculpture. If I hadn't been to the show, and known that there was only one checkered sculpture on a pedestal, I wouldn't believe that it is the same piece.

Time Traveler III

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Though you can't walk around the wall pieces, they still playfully test the viewers perception of perspective.

Time Traveler IV

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

As you move to the left, the piece seems to warp in front of your eyes, as if light doesn't behave like you expect it to.

Time Traveler IV

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler IV

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Another thing I like about Clark's work is its approachability and casualness. In addition to the playful approachability of the optical effects, the rough cuts, the wearing down/"antiquing" of the colors, and the natural checking/splitting of the wood result in art that creates a relaxed and fun environment. Though fun art can sometimes be saccharine, the abstract subject of these gives them a more cerebral quality.  

 Time Traveler IX (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler IX (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

The black and white pieces as well as the colored triangle ones have a Stella-esque feel in design if not aloofness. The triangles even seem to cause another perspective bending effect as with Time Traveler X, the point of the triangles conflict with the actual angles of the sculpture.

Time Traveler X (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

 Time Traveler X (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler VIII (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Time Traveler VIII (seated portrait)

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Clark doesn't go to a lumber yard for his material, he gets it by chance. If he sees someone cutting down a tree, he'll ask for some pieces. He then cuts the green logs with a chainsaw. Because the lumber is still very wet, it splits as it drys. The effect creates and irreverent aspect to the work. It is another way of saying that fine art doesn't have to be precious to be appreciated.

Time Traveler

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

Again, it is hard to believe that these two images are of the same piece. I'm simply making an assumption based on their proximity from my camera download.

Time Traveler

carved and polychromed poplar

2011

I had seen this piece previously at the Art Hop show. Being ash, it is quite dense and heavy. Clark estimated that it weighed about 500 lbs. I think it is the most approachable sculpture in the show, perhaps because its unpainted and scarified surface. It seems to beg to be joined in repose.

Time Traveler XI

carved ash

2011

Time Traveler XI

carved ash

2011

And finally, I normally don't include non-wood art on my blog but I'm making an exception for this encaustic piece because it looks to be a painting of one of Clark's wood sculptures (earlier series). What a great subject -- a figurative painting of an abstractly painted abstract sculpture. Besides, I really love the texture and colors.

 

Concentric Hypercube

encaustic

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.