Pondering the Unthinkable

New Sculpture By Andy Moerlein

Installation

Prints

March 25 - May 1, 2014

Reception Thursday April 3 4-7pm

A SPECIAL Brunch Event & Artist talk

Sat, April 5, 12pm – 1pm

New England College Gallery

15 Main Street

Henniker NH 03242

 

10' x 35' x 12' high   wood, tar, feathers, water, hand made stones 2014   photo credit: John W Hession

Demise, a tale of foreboding. In this room sized installation, Andy Moerlein presents a varied collection of materials in a riot of textures and implied content. Moerlein uses tar, feathers, water, wood and a fabricated stonewall to share his concerns about this moment in human history.

“As he creeps along a stone wall…the feral power evident in the lines of the creature combined with his uncertain stance feels like…the evocation of a deity from an ancient culture.”
Cait McQuaid Boston Globe Review February 11, 2014

This is a notable show of work that spans the past two years. Besides the large installation Moerlein is showing 40 smaller sculptures, drawings and prints.

 

Adventure

2013. wood, ceramic

 Taking risks. Teetering but solid.

Proposal

2013 monoprint

Together for the migration. The long haul.

  

In making art I follow an alchemist’s path. These protoscientists believe in a natural and symbolic unity of humanity with the cosmos. Through a combination of common elements they sought impossible results. Similarly I make sculptures of ordinary objects and events seeking extraordinary results.

I see the shapes of trees, the edges of natural and logical phenomena, the flight patterns of birds, their songs and colors, all as structures that encode a deeper communication between all things. I build structures that seem familiar. I use authentic tree parts that I find eccentric, lovely, sentimental, exceptional.

When speaking of inspiration I think of intuition and structure. My work lately has embodied birds because they seem so innately expressive. We mammal-human-types possess a conceit about our creative uniqueness. Considering that by evolutionary science we are no more nearly related to a bird than a stone cold lizard, I find the emotional/musical affection we project upon avian kind curious. The parallels between avian-human -- warm bodies, social complexities, and passion to communicate -- fascinate me.