In conjunction with "Juxtapoz x Superflat," happening at Pivot Art & Culture in Seattle from August 4-7, 2016, we had Ian Bates check in with Elisabeth Higgins O'Connor as she preps new sculptural works in the Pacific Northwest. Some of the photos featured here will be part of our special interview with Elisabeth featured in our upcoming September 2016 issue.
Elisabeth told us of the sculptures she is making for Juxtapoz x Superflat, "Tom Waits is definitely an influence! For this body of work, I have been working more from drawings and maquettes, building wood skeletal armatures and laminating foam insulation sheets into giant cubes, then carving them into the foundations for the bodies and heads. Previous work either accreted like a pearl, with bedding, cardboard and all manner of glues, drywall screws and paint, or were hollow, many-layered cardboard constructions, and had become prohibitively heavy, unwieldy, and after time, tended to deflate or deform during transport and storage. I normally work very intuitively, and will follow a form toward what it might suggest to me. Something that I perceive as dog-like might morph eventually into something sheep-like, for example.
"Because of the time-crunch, new materials and processes, this work is forcing me to factor in more planning and engineering than ever before. The styrofoam may be peaking through in places, but will get layered with stressed or processed domestic textiles, scavenged cardboard and goo. It’s an aesthetic of buildup and erosion."
For all coverage of "Juxtapoz x Superflat", click here.
Artists selected to appear in the show by Murakami include: Chiho Aoshima, Urs Fischer, Kim Jung Gi, Kazunori Hamana, James Jean, JH Kagaku, Friedrich Kunath, Takashi Murakami, Kazumi Nakamura, Otani Workshop, Mark Ryden, David Shrigley, Katsuya Terada, a selection from Toilet Paper Magazine, Yuji Ueda, Yuji Ueno, He Xiang Yu, and Zoer & Velvet. Artists selected by Pricco include Trenton Doyle Hancock, Todd James, Austin Lee, Rebecca Morgan, Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor, Paco Pomet, Parra, Christian Rex van Minnen. Erin M. Riley, Devin Troy Strother, Sage Vaughn, and Ben Venom.
609 Westlake Ave N.
Seattle, WA 98109
Ground floor of the Allen Institute building on Westlake between Mercer and Broad in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle
