“Taking Up Space”
Taking Up Space
January 6-28, 2011
Taking Up Space is the first solo show from artist Sean FitzGibbons and showcases the first in a series of geometric steel sculptures and the collaborative work with glass blower and artist Jake Zollie Harper.
This six-piece show was an introduction to Sean’s abstract work. The work focuses on the use of negative space as a functional aspect of three-dimensional design. There is also a strong element of balance and arrested potential energy in each freestanding sculpture. Using reclaimed steel from a near-by scrap metal yard the surface of each piece is cleaned, brushed, and treated; until it has the desired texture, sheen, and smoothness.
Taking Up Space 2010 (4’x4’x2”) Acryllic on gesso
*Schroeder Collection
Simple Planes 2010 (2.5’ x 4.5’ x 2.5’) Reclaimed Steel
Figurative Gateway 2010 (3” x 4” x 1’) Reclaimed Steel
Interrupted Column 2010 (8” x 8” x 1.5’) Reclaimed Steel *Collins & Speier Collection
Column, Interrupted 2010 (2’ x 2.5’ x 5.25’) Reclaimed Steel *Eshelman & Torres Collection
Chandelier 2010 (2.5’ x 2.5’ x 7’) Steel & 215 Flame-Worked Handblown Borosilicate Glass Pieces; Collaborative work with Jake Harper of Zollie Glass Studio
Images courtesy of:
Press:
Gallery Stroll by: Emily Messer
In the middle of local artist Sean FitzGibbons’ exhibit “Taking up Space” is a large chandelier that hangs low to the ground. It consists of five tiers of circular black steel, from which dozens of pieces of hand-blown glass hang like stalactites.
The grandiose centerpiece is a collaborative effort; FitzGibbons created the steel portions, and Jake Zollie Harper blew the borosilicate glass. Its look is more industrial than ornate, and the chandelier’s massive structure illuminates the much smaller sculptures around it and a painting depicting the show’s title, “Taking Up Space.”
FitzGibbons’ reclaimed steel sculptures are abstract geometric shapes with textured surfaces. The metallic sculptures “Column, Interrupted” and “Interrupted Column,” both consisting of an offset ring sandwiched by cubes, are simultaneously rough and polished. With their minimal and small, yet dense, forms, FitzGibbons’ sculptures serve as a counterbalance to the much lighter seeming chandelier.
