FRAMING DEVICES

2023

50” x 43.5” x 14”

Found frame, drop cloth, shredded paper, polyurethane, wood stains, cement, gesso, shellac

Framing Devices utilizes the same materials I used in the fragmented, floating shapes of the triptych Three Elegies. In fact, the material framed here is the ‘negative space’ of what was cut out for the triptych. The piece is a continuation of my exploration of framing, particularly borders being the geopolitical framing of lands shifted—arbitrarily—over time, and yet the imprints of peoples and cultures remain within the earth and across borders regardless of which lines are drawn, which lands divided. The material is Home Depot drop cloth splattered with various inks and dyes, shellac, gesso, as well as shredded paper (an important material for me particularly in its bureaucratic associations) which I then walked over and over for days before arbitrarily cutting the pieces up for the triptych and framing the remaining ‘negative space’ within a found frame.

To further the theme of the constant movement of borders and framing devices, I love the presentation of this piece outdoors at Reisig and Taylor Contemporary, allowing light and shadow to further frame and hold the piece in perpetual motion.