Let’s Have Fun for Once

Artist Statement

Carson Fox

Lately, my sculptures have been romancing absurdity. The forms suggest the animation of figuration, but omit a sum of recognizable parts. A gesture remains, and color-saturated abstraction occupies the rest.

Having so much fun is hard work. Sculptures are improvisational as they are made, but they may require months of work before they are resolved. Alert play is part of my process as I pour, brush and drip resin before it hardens to a candy colored shell. Listening comes next, as the works complain that this color is ridiculous and this texture must be sanded away, and please hack off this protrusion. I work to mollify their grumblings.

I wait for the moment when something snaps into place and tells me the sculpture is complete. The issue of balance, as both a metaphor and literal component, plays a critical role, as parts teeter on (seemingly) precarious supports. This restraint — the act
of holding things in place against all odds, speaks to a larger human tension — our delicate balance between stability and emotional tumult. Equally important is a sense of exuberant whimsy, one that is both preposterous and ridiculous, while seeking a different kind of sublime.

Contact Info

Jon Duff, Curator, jduff@adelphi.edu