Construct: 1) to build something, 2) to create something in mind
"In my site-specific architectural installations, I explore language, architecture and the body as
related rational constructs that become flexible and emergent through humor, curiosity and
wonder. Poised between perpetual creation and impending collapse, the absurd architectural
tableaus create a space between fact and fiction that the viewer can enter, becoming a
participant in an irresolvable narrative.
"Spin" installation at Boston Sculptors Gallery
My new installation, “Spin,” a debut exhibition at the Boston Sculptors Gallery, features a
baroque cascade of architectural structures, spilling through the gallery. Colorful, patterned
arcs attached to wood frames, resembling salvaged remnants of post and beam construction
from imagined carnivalesque architectural forms, appear reassembled as a falling whirl. Painted exaggerations, such as faux wood grain finishes and pattern, create a cartoonish facade to the materials that complicate the installation’s physical presence. Pieces of the installation spread throughout challenge how visitors negotiate the space, their choices becoming a part of the installation’s performative quality.
"A Functional Incident" at the McIninch Gallery, Southern New Hampshire University
This year, I completed three new installations, beginning with “A Functional Incident” at the
McIninch Gallery, Southern New Hampshire University, “An Event”, at the University of New
Hampshire and lastly, “Spin” for the Boston Sculptors Gallery. My past installation projects were built primarily with painted and printed foam materials. More recently, I’ve included thin arcs in my installation design as a way of delineating the outer edge of a form, while magnifying the presence of negative space. Building these arcs involves a process of bending and laminating sheets of plywood, which are then finished with painted pattern.
"A Functional Incident," alt. view, at the McIninch Gallery, Southern New Hampshire University
For the installation, “A Functional Incident,” oversized architectural structures caught in moment of impact, filled the McIninch Gallery. A low 2x4 framed structure positioned near the entrance of the gallery seemed abruptly shoved into the larger structure near the corner of the gallery. Three large white arcs spilled from the top of the larger structure and tilted toward the gallery walls, causing points of disorienting closeness between the installation and gallery walls as the viewer chose their path around the piece.
"An Event" at the Museum of Art, University of New Hampshire
The installation, “An Event” was included in the exhibit, “Impact,” at the Museum of Art
University of New Hampshire that celebrated past and present recipients of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Piscataqua Region Artist Advancement Grant. The title, “An Event”, implies that something significant is about to happen, while the installation itself remains a playful mystery that evades knowing. The tumble of arcs and 2x4 frames appear to roll toward a white and pink wall. Fragments of pattern painted on both sides of the arcs become visible as viewers walked around the piece, disorienting what is top/bottom or inside/outside so the architectural structure is in perpetual, dynamic flux."
Kirsten Reynolds