ALLISON PASCHKE
Statement of Artistic Intent 2008


My pieces are developed intuitively, balancing desires and impulses. The results create tensions between opposing concepts.

Ethereality vs. Sensuality
The desire to veil or obscure is balanced by an attraction to sculptural physicality. Objects and figures are more seductive when partially hidden. The invitation to touch sensual materials such as resin and porcelain balances the interactive, ethereal qualities of space and light.

Fragility vs. Immortality
The impulse toward delicacy and fragility can lead toward a sense our own mortality. The attraction to the ephemeral quality of light also emphasizes the passage of time, yet porcelain is one of the most durable materials in the history of art, and can evoke our struggle toward immortality.

Subtlety vs. Intensity
The impulse to reduce, simplify, and visually quiet an image leads to the magnification and intensification of visual phenomena. Subtle variations in smooth white porcelain, amber-colored resin, or translucent tissue paper become significant in a context of very little color or contrast.

The Miniature vs. the Vast
Each piece has a scale shift between an imaginary miniature world and a feeling of deep space around it. The porcelain boxes are hand-held size but contain a simple glowing world of indeterminate scale. Wall and installation pieces, while being physically much larger, still contain thousands of tiny details that can pull viewers into an intimate closeness.

Geometry vs. Imperfection
The impulse toward pure geometry is immediately followed by a desire to disrupt the geometry. For example, a perfect porcelain cube slumps in firing, or a simple square mirror develops richness and variation by adding translucent layers. Geometry is abstract perfection; imperfections add beauty to an otherwise sterile perfection.

Representation vs. Abstraction
The impulse to enrich a flat surface balances a desire to simplify a dimensional object, and so each piece lies between two and three dimensions. For example, a translucent resin block is both a solid object and a permeable plane. The cubical sculptures conjure the image of a physical space to enter, yet each side is flat. In abstract pictorial pieces such as mirror paintings, because there are no distractions such as representational images, the viewer’s reflected presence becomes part of the composition itself.