A tribute to Misfits
February 6 – March 15, 2015
RoCo – Rochester Contemporary Art Center
ARTIST STATEMENT
This exhibition is the result of a new collaboration between local artists Bill Klingensmith and Robin Cass. With elements of both traditional artisanry and high-tech fabricating used in the service of ideas, these pieces explore the boundaries between art, craft and design.
The installation consists of an eclectic array of glass objects presented on arched wooden wall niches. Cass makes the glass elements by sculpting the material in its molten state, sometimes encasing silver leaf or other materials within the glass. They are artifacts of experimentation that have not found a home in any of the involved compositions in her “Curious Growths” series or other sculptural assemblages.
Alternatively, these “foundlings” have been selected for this new purpose, cleaned up, and matched with individual niches.
Klingensmith fabricates these wooden platforms with a CNC router then finishes them by hand. Each shelf is topped with a metallic arch that lends a sense of reverence for the object below. These structures serve to acknowledge each “misfit” treasure and celebrate its inherent value as a curiosity.
People have always gathered odd or novel objects for personal contemplation or public display; a practice exemplified by the popular “WunderKammer” or cabinets of curiosities of Renaissance Europe. Such activities satisfy our essential desire to reflect on the mysterious and experience wonder.
PROCESS WORK FOR FOUNDLINGS
