Kelly Bugden + Van Wifvat

Abstract wood Sculpture: Horn

2018

The artistic collaboration of Kelly Bugden + Van Wifvat has produced a thought-provoking body of sculptures, paintings, and constructions. Nature, childhood memories, and everyday archetypes take shape in unexpected combinations of materials. The works emerged as the tactile and visual senses channeled the ritualistic power and materiality of selected artifacts. The resulting objects exist in a space between what they were originally and what they could become. A wheel, for example, is distorted as if seen through a prism. Their collaboration grew out of years of shaping materials into one-of-a-kind objects. Intuitively, the process of creating with their hands took an inward turn. Prism is a travelogue through memories and dreams, yielding abstract forms that capture moments of transformation. Van Wifvat grew up with eight siblings and studied sculpture and environmental design in Minneapolis at MCAD. In 1979, he opened a storefront art gallery to promote the work of local artists. The space featured printed materials—art books, periodicals, fanzines, and postcard’s. Wifvat moved to New York in 1983 to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons. In 1987, he co-founded Van Gregory & Norton design studio, specializing in convex mirrors and curtain hardware...

Ak Jansen was born in Dongen, The Netherlands, in 1988. He studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven focusing on textile design, material culture, and techniques of fabrication. He wor...

John Wolfe's Mixed Media Abstract Sculpture, "Untitled Assemblage #S 3-23" brings together wood, steel, ceramic elements, and acrylic paint. The warm colors of the wood and painted ceramic elements soften the feel of the rectilinear arrangement. The shallow depth of the work gives the sculpture a kind of "drawing" quality while the shadows it casts lend a more expansive feel. The heavy, dark wood base anchors all aspects of the work in place. This work is the perfect tabletop piece. It's large enough to command attention, but also subtle in its open framework arrangement. John Wolfe was born in Vernon...

Artist Commentary: Dark Chocolate Brown Stoneware; Cone 5/6 Oxidation Firing; Slips & Oxides; Faux metal detailing "A relic of nature." Keywords: abstract, textured, ceramic, clay,...