Timepiece
1998 Porcelin w. Acrylics 144 x 90 in.
As a child growing up in Arizona, I saw rock carvings depicting prehistoric lives, pointing to the transitory nature of man’s presence on the land. I experienced first-hand the excitement of exploring the ruins of ancient civilizations. Later, I was drawn to the rough stone formations along the Mississippi and the mysteries of burial mounds. The eternal and the ephemeral: a preoccupation of artists throughout history has become a subject of my work.
This large-scale wall relief portrays a rock formation I found while sightseeing in Northern Italy. I was fascinated by a road construction cut through a mountain. Layers built up by natural forces and preserved in an orderly manner to reveal the past, almost as pages or chapters in a story. At the same time, the effects of weather, temperature, and pressure, erosion and decay, interact in a provocative way. I want to draw attention to this beauty that can easily be overlooked.
The sculpture is made up of hundreds of small pieces of high-fired porcelain and stoneware, all attached to a plywood substructure with industrial adhesives and metal bolts. The two panels break down into three interlocking vertical sections. The surfaces are not glazed but are painted with acrylics and sealed with polyurethane. The construction required nearly three years to complete.
