Elizabeth's TearsBlown and Solid Glass and Steel
2002
Graham Caldwell is an artist whose vision of the world can be seen throught the lense of his recent work. Now living in Brooklyn New York, Graham recently visited the VCU campus to share thoughts on his work as art. "I am interested in the baroque diverstiy of organisms, the intersection of the organic and the mechanical, the body as architecture, as factory and as museaum."
Graham recieved his BFA in glass from Rhode Island School of Design and then went on to pursue his career in art. Today his practice has landed him several solo exhibitions in Washington DC. He has also participated in several group exhibitions, some of which extend overseas including the US Embassy in Prague. His focus on glass has provided him with a unique way of sharing his vision. Its inherent qualities have captured his attention and the relationship between he and his material can be seen in works that reflect the world around him and channel the eye of the viewer into the mulitiplicities of reocurring pattern, naturally found among the gentle teardops of glass carefully upheld by caressing curves of steel. His work permits the audience to experince the nature of realty as simple and cyclical; and yet complex in its diversity of scale and manifestation.
During his lecture it was easy to become aware of the enjoyment found through his work, his understanding of concept was dense and his way of seeing was well revealed through the images he cast upon the critique room wall; teams of teardrops, constructed of glass that captured the image of a passing day nearby. This is not the only form found among the images, however it is a dominant one. He also includes trumpet like manifolds nested within each other, undulating within space and protruding from walls. These forms become the central method of transmission, yet it is the conceptual content which drives thier creation. It is the idea and the pursuit of learning through his material that empowers the work. Accessing this conceptual information is left up to the subjective nature of the viewer and yet most would find in this work, a gentle pull towards seeing, to experiencing the nature of the lense and the oculus through which one is exposed to a condensed reality, multiplied by the scores of individual objects together communicated as a whole.
Manifold
Blown Glass & Steel
60" x 84" x 24"
2005
For more information on Graham and his work please visit:
http://www.grahamcaldwell.com/
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