HEDGEROW
HEDGEROW is a multidisciplinary exhibit of found-object sculptures, drawings and paintings all inspired by immersions in the Midwest landscape.
A hedgerow is a farm field border of shrubs and other plants, along with stones and cast-off manmade materials. Hedgerows provide important habitat for butterflies, songbirds and other wildlife. Such habitat is rapidly decreasing but remnants can be found in communities as natural areas that remain after farmland is converted to suburban homes.
In this exhibit the sculptures combine weathered natural and manufactured objects in the search for visual harmony arising from advanced material decay. Although I intend these works to be beautiful I also mean to comment on the larger relationship between contemporary culture and nature.
The drawings include archetypal graphic motifs, abstract images based on routes of daily travel, and visual expressions of energy. While some of these works refer directly to the landscape, others are symbolic of the search for universal patterns and truths.
The paintings are saturations of color that seem like an allowance of self indulgence, and like walking through daily and seasonal weather changes. These paintings build textures and colors over each other to represent deep layers of beauty and experience.
Works in HEDGEROW are related to each other by the use of weathered materials, two- and three-dimensional linear elements and color, and interactions with the Midwest landscape. The work reflects patterns and forms in nature without denying the presence of humanity while evoking memories of specific places.