Location: Emmett Street and Stadium Road

Value: $6500

Artist Statement

I see my artwork as a type of personal evolution, each piece and concept leading to the next as I constantly learn and grow as an artist, and as a person. For several years my focus has been the exploration of abstracted versions of objects that I imagine to be "below the surface" of something. I have been considering subject matter such as fossils, bones, the core of the earth, or the "innerness" of something, which lies just out of view waiting to be exposed. These things and the forms they inspire are also segments of a whole entity, which are taken out of context. They stand on their own as complete forms, but suggest integral relationships to other objects, which are not present. Some of this concept also includes what lies below the surface of a being in a more philosophical rather than physical sense. Emotions, personality, and inner beauty are examples of this. The visual impact of some of these pieces has been suggestive of antiquity, like a recently unearthed skeleton on display, or of slices of an object in cross-section.

Being a very process oriented artist as well, I am constantly exploring new methods of constructing my pieces that successfully elucidate their underlying concepts. While remaining true to fundamental concepts of formal three-dimensional design, I seek to enrich the visual impact of my pieces by creating dynamic relationships that demand an interactive viewing. Rorschach is one of a series of pieces in which I have tried to use the natural flexibility of large segments of steel to create sweeping curved planes across the form. Also reminiscent of a bone structure, Rorschach has been described as " rigidly organic" which I believe accurately describes the feeling of the piece.

Michael Cottrell
P.O. Box 10754
Jackson, WY 83002
307-690-8640
michael@cottrellsculpture.com
www.cottrellsculpture.com

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