Robert Fathauer
I'm endlessly fascinated by certain aspects of our world, including symmetry, chaos, and infinity. Mathematics allows me to explore these topics in distinctive artworks that I feel are an intriguing blend of complexity and beauty.
The laws that govern our physical universe can be succinctly expressed by mathematical equations. As a result, mathematics can be seen throughout the natural world, and much of my work plays on mathematical forms in nature.
This sculpture is based on a particular stage in the development of a fractal curve known as the ternary dragon. This ceramic piece has been mounted on a board, with standoffs, partly to make it easier to handle without breaking. The resulting construct could be viewed as either a two-dimensional or three-dimensional artwork, which echoes the manner in which fractal curves can be considered as one-dimensional (a line), two-dimensional (a plane-filling object), or something in between.
This piece combines a ceramic polyhedral form with organic fingers that are formed from willow branches. The polyhedron, known as a pentagonal icositetrahedron, has an opening in each of its 24 faces from which "tendrils" emerge that are suggestive of plant growth or possibly appendages of an insect or sea creature.