healing series: the sisters 1996
media: wood, cotton/polyester
394x178x20cm
147 painted squares 2002
media: acrylic on plywood
477x158cm
49 wrapped squares 1996 (detail)
media: plywood, tissue, fabric, 2 miles thread
157x157cm
bandage grid 2002
media: plywood, acrylic, 35m bandages
22.9x22.9x3cm
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In her work Kathryn Dain constantly tries to find points
of balance between opposites. The contrasting issues vary from one work to the
next but the process of finding equilibrium is the same in each work.
The artist states, "I let go of everything extraneous, pare down to as little
as possible, then add or subtract on either side of the equation until there is
balance. I'am looking for a kind of energized stillness."
You'll find this balancing act working itself out in orderly grids with many
subtle disorderly details, in plain shapes with highly textured surfaces, in
tiny works so powerful they read from across a large room, Volume and weight
are the opposing issues in a giant brown paper sphere. The work looks simple
but it isn't. You'll grasp some of what's going on in an instant from a
distance and then be surprised at the complexity you'll find when you get up
closer and spend time.
notes on form, process, content
Grids
_order, structure, stability, balance and simplicity enlivened by individual
uniquenesses within the grid units _By making small physically manageable units
and amassing them into large works I am never overwhelmed by scale.
Photocopies on Metal
_To make these works I used a photocopier as a camera. With it I photographed
3-dimensional objects. Images were heat-transferred to metal grounds. (ie. The
image is on the metal; there is no paper layer.) _Because of the glow of the
metal and the soft focus of the images, many of these works look like X-rays (a
body/sickness/healing reference) _process/fast and repetitive/move the object,
bush the button, move the object, push the button, etc.
Brown Wrapping Paper Works
_process/fast, physical and noisy. I grap one end of a 2 ft. wide roll of paper
and crumple. Within 10 minutes I'm wrestling with a giant anaconda of paper.
Within 5 hours my hands, arms and shoulders are so tired they barely function.
_scale/each of these works could be made much larger in a large space either by
directly increasing size (Sphere, Circle) or by increasing the number of units
(Construction, Spirals).
_content/These works deal with lightness of being (mass without weight) and
they are playful. In these two ways they transcend. |
