As the restrictions of Covid set in, my work had to be increasing experienced over digital display. I chose to embrace the idea of experiencing a sculpture as an image. This piece was originally a large, laminated wood sculpture almost unseen by anyone. Instead, I used matte paint to remove shadows and placed it on a digital background to highlight it as a 2D image. Its existence as a sculpture is unrecognizable appearing as a computer-generated 3D model. The title brings attention to size and presence. The materials and its construction become obsolete as the viewer experience only the digital image. The importance of the sculpture as a physical object is questioned, as is a desire to see it in person. How we now experience art is in flux. This piece does not limit it as a digital image or a 3D sculpture.

12’ x 8’ x 8’ 

End of the Road

Douglas Fir and Mahogany with copper rivets; acrylic and LED

Untitled

Zephyr Dawn meaning the birth of a light breeze 

Zephyr Dawn

Four individual acrylic paintings on canvas

Untitled 

Acrylic on canvas with laminated douglas fir frame. 

Water Runs Dry

Paper Rings

Aint No Mountain High Enough

Careless Whisper

Blank Space

“The Way I Am” is a collection of three independent pieces that stand proud alone while remaining members of a family. Each piece was born from a single piece of wood contorted into balanced organic forms with a personality of their own.

The Way I Am 

Call My Name

The free-standing sculpture is a culmination of the previous works in the series. The wrapping line is tightly amassed together and others it is rarely overlapping. The internal light source is contained and spills out of these sections. The single line weaves around concluding at a distinct point with intention. The title _lets meet back here_, reflects this seeming impossibility, and draws the audience in to investigate. The curving form unravels and is supported by the remanence. The outer layers of sculptor appear as shadow that produce a shell against the emerging volume of light. The form weighs against itself appearing to fall over. The individual line races across the piece to reach its destination while the structure and position give a sense that the object is peril. 

  
The section of the sculpture creates a clearly defined volume with an organic quality. The varying density of overlaps block the light to manipulate an unnatural placement of weight and structure. The bulbous end is neither the beginning nor end of the piece but is a turned point for the line to return. The laminated pieces remain unfinished to expose the wood and process. The sculpture’s construction is understandable yet beyond its possibilities. Craftsmanship, material, and technique remain the foundation of this series and throughout my work. 

  

Let’s meet back here

The laminated Douglas Fir pieces produce a calming flow as the individual lines flow past each other. They are assisted by the shadow adding a subtle volume to its simple form. The humble piece does not impose on the viewer. It purely pays homage to material and process. 

That’s where I draw the line

The mahogany sculpture continuous a connection to others as a 3D drawing but is the first of the laminated pieces to stray from a continuous line. The sculpture and its shadows appear to originate from the same single line adding weight to the unbalanced piece. Mahogany’s deep color dwarfs its shadows, using them to emphasis the object. The material is highlighted by its finish and a high level of craftsmanship. Movement from the fluid curves is abruptly broken by hard angles, each line returning to its source. The curves build as the over lapping lines weave into a volume of material. The piece is an expanding focus on form, material and process.

Wind beneath my wings 

Maintaining my foundation in craftsmanship this piece marks an evolution in the series. While it is physically closer to a 2D object then previous pieces, a focus on the material declares it an object. The wall mounted sculpture stands on top of its shadows that fight for distinction as part of its structure. The changing separation from the wall creates a shaded cloud of volume and depth. However, a clear gloss finish showcases the Douglas Fir and the sculpture’s construction. Wood and the laminating process are a predominant the progression of sculptures that follow. I further embrace my craft building traditional wooden boats, while continuing to explore movement, volume, weight, and depth using fluid forms as line. 

No Words 

This large suspension piece, shown in the Murphy Cadogan Award Exhibition, is a continuation of dialog between 2D and 3D. The sculpture uses lighting to create a drawing with its shadows. The white line disappears into the white background and reemerges as the piece rotates. The gloss finish conceals the material and the lamination process, producing intrigue about its construction as a sculpture. The 3D object is overwhelmed by the size and gradual movement of its shadows as a 2D drawing on wall. A single slightly twisting red line pierces through the woven mass yet appears as a brushstroke again referencing the image as a sketch. The sculpture _Outlet_ gives the illusion of a 2D drawing, where this piece produces one. The dominate images projected in the background are seen from a distance while the sculpture is barely visible. As the viewer approaches, a high level of craftsmanship removes the material and process from it as an object. The piece exists as both an evolving 2D image and a rotating 3D sculpture. 

Whitewalls 

The ribbon in this small installation has a spontaneous and purposeful movement through symmetrical waves of monofilament. Varying transparent, reflective, and overlapping curves create ambiguous volumes that the ribbon bounces off and cuts through. The viewer is limited to a single perspective through a cut out in the white box housing the installation. From this vantage point the piece remains still, as a mathematical drawing. Shades of gray and black lines combine with their shadows and blur together as a flat image. However, the complexity of the weaving creates awareness to the depth of the space and returns it to 3D. Both ribbon and monofilament pieces are presented as a choice for the viewer, a complex weaving of lines in a flat image or as angular movement through a space. 

The installation is a continuation of sculptural line drawings. The piece uses straight lines and hard angles to rapidly flow through parabolic arches of monofilament. The taught red ribbon has a chaotic movement that continues past the viewer. Clear monofilament reflets the light in waves as you walk through the space. The subtle fluid volumes from the fishing line have a calm waterlike presence that competes with the ribbon. I have maintained a lifelong connection to the water and oceans. I became increasing intrigued with monofilament in a previous series about “ghost fishing,” a term for the fishing debris filling our oceans. I use combination of technique and craftsmanship to manipulate materials in contrast to their original purpose. The installation engulfs the unfinished space while on the finished white walls the ribbon and its shadows appear as flat scribbles. By experiencing the installation through a computer screen further pushes a sense of a 2D drawing further blurs the distinction between installation and image.

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In a series of laminated wood pieces, I apply my background from the last 12 years as a boatbuilder and craftsman. An interweaving of art and craft is the foundation of all my work, one that I am passionate to carve a place for in contemporary art. The series evolves through the manipulation of materials, processes, and craftsmanship. This large suspension sculpture is a 3D manifestation of a doodle. Matte paint covering the fluid curves hides the depth of the piece and appears flat. However, as the piece rotates below a single point the image changes dramatically, combined with the continues flowing line creates a sense of movement as if witnessing the drawing occur. The zip ties add a quickness and sketch like quality to the doodle and a lack of permanence to it as a structure. An ambiguous distinction between 2D and 3D place the process of its creation equal its culmination as an object. 

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Bryce LeFort

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