Melita Westerlund
Artist Statement :
Over many years I have been exploring the interrelationship of color and form. The shapes I create and colors I use have been inspired by a combination of my American and African experiences and my traditional Finnish background.
I am interested in conveying strength through simple shapes yet maintaining a sufficient complexity to bring one's eye back to the pieces many times, each time finding something new. My selection of medium supports this dialectic of simple strength and complexity. My exploration of materials and techniques and my desire to fabricate most of my art has led me on journeys that included bronze casting, welding steel and aluminum, woodworking, papermaking. Most recently I am exploring a recycled product that has been essential to my development of environmental art.
I am continually shifting scale and applying color to form. At times, as with my steel and aluminum sculpture, the color is applied to the surface of the material while in my environmental art and cast paper the pigment has become integral to the material. In many pieces I have combined several materials to add another level of complexity to the work. Combinations such as steel and wood, stone, steel and moss, concrete and ceramic tile have all become elements in my work.
My sculpture has ranged in size from tabletop pieces to room-sized public commissions for both indoor and outdoor placement. Some sculpture has been strictly grounded and others kinetic.
My most recent series, “Environmental Chaos”, has been motivated by the degradation of the coral reefs. For this work I developed a new medium utilizing recycled fiber.
Please contact Drift Gallery at 603-379-6560 to inquire about availability.
Over many years I have been exploring the interrelationship of color and form. The shapes I create and colors I use have been inspired by a combination of my American and African experiences and my traditional Finnish background.
I am interested in conveying strength through simple shapes yet maintaining a sufficient complexity to bring one's eye back to the pieces many times, each time finding something new. My selection of medium supports this dialectic of simple strength and complexity. My exploration of materials and techniques and my desire to fabricate most of my art has led me on journeys that included bronze casting, welding steel and aluminum, woodworking, papermaking. Most recently I am exploring a recycled product that has been essential to my development of environmental art.
I am continually shifting scale and applying color to form. At times, as with my steel and aluminum sculpture, the color is applied to the surface of the material while in my environmental art and cast paper the pigment has become integral to the material. In many pieces I have combined several materials to add another level of complexity to the work. Combinations such as steel and wood, stone, steel and moss, concrete and ceramic tile have all become elements in my work.
My sculpture has ranged in size from tabletop pieces to room-sized public commissions for both indoor and outdoor placement. Some sculpture has been strictly grounded and others kinetic.
My most recent series, “Environmental Chaos”, has been motivated by the degradation of the coral reefs. For this work I developed a new medium utilizing recycled fiber.
Please contact Drift Gallery at 603-379-6560 to inquire about availability.