Platonic Solids Deconstructed Works on Paper
I often find myself of two minds, each at odds with the other. The
work in Geometry Lessons exemplifies this condition. I am intrigued and reassured by the patterns, systems, and laws that hold our physical and societal worlds together. I rely on these laws, mostly without awareness, but when I am conscious of them, their essential truths fascinate me.
Yet, there is this rebel side of me. Part of my character is obliged
to challenge these laws and patterns, to put them to the test, to pull, twist and tweak them. This part of me asks “If I push the assumptions, what might I learn?” It is these two opposing sides of my personality that first drew me to the peculiarities and distinct laws of the Platonic solids and then compelled me to mess with them, to attempt to deconstruct them.
The work started with a series of drawings and paintings, each based on a sketch of one of the Platonic solids. I then edited the shape—eliminating sides, creating protrusions, stretching walls, rendering inside and outside ambiguous.
When I applied this experiment to 3-dimensional construction it got tricky. The laws of geometry which initially attracted me to these forms became harder to shake. The lessons of Geometry Lessons came at me fast. An object I was able to draw was not necessarily one I could build. Physics got in the way so I had to play by the rules. To fight back, I added trompe l‘oeil drawings and reflective film. The result is a sense of spatial ambiguity which, much like the paintings, is at once playful and rebellious.
To view the artist talk featuring this work as part of Geometry Lessons at Boston Sculptors Gallery, June 2023 click here
Platonic Solids Deconstructed: Icosahedron II
2022 Acrylic and graphite on paper
18” x 14” (framed)
Platonic Solids Deconstructed: Icosahedron II
2022 Acrylic and graphite on paper
18” x 14” (framed)
Platonic Solids Deconstructed: Octahedron I
2022 Acrylic and graphite on paper
20” x 14” (framed)
Platonic Solids Deconstructed: Cube I
2022
Acrylic and graphite on paper
18” x 14” (framed)
Platonic Solids Deconstructed: Octahedron II
2023 Acrylic and graphite on Duralar mounted on board
10” x 10”
Platonic Solids Deconstructed: Cube III
2023 Acrylic and graphite on paper mounted on board
12” x 6”
Platonic Solids Deconstructed: Octahedron II
2023 Acrylic and graphite on Duralar mounted on board
14” x 11”
Platonic Solids Deconstructed: Icosahedron V
2022 Acrylic and graphite on paper
13.74” x 14” (framed)