henry klimowicz art

Statement

unimportant materials.

　When looking at my work the question of why cardboard is not the first thing you feel. Cardboard is the foundation of its intellectual space and the starting place for understanding the work, but it is not what you see at first glance.

I have used cardboard as my primary material since about 1986. My earliest use of cardboard was a reaction against an even earlier body of work that used a wide range of materials. I wanted to simplify my pallet. I wanted to be able to know that the representations I accomplished were not made by the materials that I used. An example of this was my depictions of water. Early on I would use tin foil and wax to depict water. The glistening and translucence of the wax on tin foil made for surface that seemed water like. When I stripped down to just cardboard I was assured that the depictions were my own and not that of the material.

Deriving value in artwork from the materials used has troubled me. Value can come from both the cost of the material or the materials intellectual relationship to art making. I love that with cardboard the audience has to give to the work value without either of these intellectual or societal crutches. We live in a world enveloped in thoughts of value. My use of cardboard, a valueless material, releases me from the hart of this cultural confine. I believe that we see things while calculating worth.

That on occasion the past life of the material is visible is a good thing. A bit of printing helps the work reference back to it's origins. I have not embraced readable amounts of text on the surface of the cardboard. I have no interest in adding a written dialog into the work. I believe if the viewer became a reader of the work then they would have the right to judge the work as a kind of poem. The other pitfall of text on the surface of the work is that the original state of the material a box can cloud the viewers ability to see the present use of the material. This edge between the past and the present is very sharp. If the piece is to much an old cardboard box then it can not be seen as a transformed object.

In the last three years I have been making a series of pieces that are mounted on stiff wooden frames that hold the piece off the wall by 2". These frames do two important things. One they give the work a formal integrity. I like to think of these works as children that I have made to sit up straight in their chairs paying close attention to the viewer and expecting that attention back in return. The second attribute that the frames bring to the work is a floating distance from the wall. They shimmer on top of the wall. I particularly enjoy the transparent edge on some of the early circles were the structure of the cardboard allows light through and a slight glimpse of the wall behind.

Last August I made an installation that covered a window. Rings of cardboard formed into orbs that created a diffused light. The structures remind me of the insides of bee hives. The process of building my work is reminiscent of the work of insects, bees, ants, and termites. I start with a small form and then proceed across the piece producing a pattern that can hold the eye. This winter I have found a new form a spiral. It produces a lattice across space and a visual vibration. It also allows for an active dialog with the wall behind the piece. Because the work is semi transparent the shadows that are cast on the wall become a secondary drawing after the foreground object.

I have been making a group of free standing sculptures after the works of Constantin Brancusi. To make work in the round has been quite fun, and almost completely unknown to me as a sculptor. I am fascinated with forms that imply a figure but have no figuration. The other captivating thing about these sculptures are there ability to react to one another. I place them on the floor one on top of another and they work together. I move them around and they still work together. I think this has to do with there familiarity to one another. Since they are made from the same material with the same hand, they readily talk to one another. The sculptural constellation is a deep idea that Brancusi has helped me see.

This spring I have opened a Gallery/ exhibition space in my barn/ studio. The goal of The Re Institute is to allow artists to observe their work in a new context. The Re Institute hosts an annual series of small group shows, bringing together visual artists, filmmakers, writers, composers, dancers, and outdoor installation artists. This year is a learning process for me with this space. I personally have had some wonderful connected moments between other artist and myself. I hope the space can be a catalyse for artist to find new parts of there own work and the work of others. If all goes well I will just sit back and over hear some interesting moments of discovery.

HCK

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