2012 Bridges Conference

Elizabeth Whiteley

Artists

Elizabeth Whiteley

Studio Artist

Washington DC, USA

whiteley.artist@gmail.com

https://portfolio.elizabethwhiteley.com

Statement

As a fine artist, I treat squares, and their triangular subdivisions, as creative shapes to be explored and transformed into sculptures that represent my personal expression and have a unique presence. I use fiberglas screening as my material. The flexible planar surface responds to warping, wrapping, curving, and torquing. The finished sculpture is changeable in response to light conditions. Gravity and tension affect it; volumes alternate with transparency. Moire patterns appear. On close inspection, the many squares of the grid slow the viewer’s eye down and encourage an appreciation of curved space.

Artworks

Image for entry 'Curved Squares 3'

Curved Squares 3

16" x 20" x 5"

Fiberglas, Acrylic Paint, Canvas

2011

I began with one square of fiberglas screening and manually folded it along a simple pattern. The process is somewhat like non-computational origami without creating sharp creases. The resulting black sculpture projects from a white canvas. The geometric energy is concentrated in the center. The resulting black sculpture projects from a white canvas. I drew a square with a pencil line on the canvas to refer viewers back to the original geometric shape of the form.
Image for entry 'Curved Squares 2'

Curved Squares 2

20" x 16" x5"

Fiberglas, Acrylic Paint, Canvas

2011

To fabricate this sculpture, I diagonally subdivided a square piece of screening into two equilateral triangles and manually folded them along identical, simple patterns. The process is somewhat like non-computational origami without creating sharp creases. I joined the two forms. The geometric energy is concentrated in the center. The resulting black sculpture projects from a white canvas. I drew a square with a pencil line on the canvas to refer viewers back to the original geometric shape of the form.
Image for entry 'Curved Squares 1'

Curved Squares 1

16" x 20" x 5"

Fiberglas, Acrylic Paint, Canvas

2011

I began with two squares of fiberglas screening and manually folded them along an identical, simple pattern. The process is somewhat like non-computational origami without creating sharp creases. I joined the two forms. The geometric energy is concentrated in the center. The resulting black sculpture projects from a white canvas. I drew a square with a pencil line on the canvas to refer viewers back to the original geometric shape of the form.