Yvette Kaiser-Smith –  Artist Statement
Community Fourier Transform
2004
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin.
96x162x26 in.
A Sum of its Parts: 4 in 2 halves is equal to 1
2005
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, Walnut, Vimco steel pipe, porcelain sockets, lights.
88x290x49 in.
A Sum of its Parts: 5 is equal to 1
2005
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, Walnut, Vimco steel pipe, porcelain sockets, lights.
131x61x61 in.
A Sum of its Parts: Identity 2
2005
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, Lacewood, Poplar.
71x41x27 in.
A Sum of its Parts: Identity 11
2005
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, Lacewood, Yellow Heart, Oak, Maple, Poplar.
70x97x7 in.
Natural Selection
2004/2005
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, enamel, Yellow Heart.
69x175x17 in.
Community Structure, Study no. 10
2003
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, Cedar.
103x157x20 in.
Community Structure, Study no. 8
2003
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, Poplar, plywood.
107x131x19 in.
Community Structure, Study no. 7
2003
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin.
116x92x17 in.
Immurement
1999 - 2002
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, enamel.
83x141x14 in.
Community Structure, Study no. 9
2003
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin.
90x131x23 in.
Quiet Assimilation
2002
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, enamel.
91x107x19 in.
Misconception
2002
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, enamel.
79x111x39 in.
Unique
2002
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, enamel.
103x87x15 in.
Veneer
2002-2003
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, enamel, poplar.
100x65x7 in.
The Complex Phenomenon of Simple
2003
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, Poplar, plywood, hardware.
94x83x9 in.
Unfeigned
2002
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin
79x49x12 in.
Sheepfold
2002
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, enamel.
95x85x9 in.
Conformity
2002
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, enamel.
85x113x21 in.
Clique: Uncertainty Principle
2002
Crocheted fiberglass, polyester resin, enamel.
43x49x6 in.
Artist Statement
I make large, wall-based, indoor abstract forms whose conceptual purpose is to articulate narratives of identity in the language of crocheted fiberglass and to redefine expectations of a sculptural object by unraveling preconceptions of materials, forms, and categories in art. The work is strongly footed in Post-Minimalism, Art Povera and process art. It refers to identity, community, figure, and body in form, relationships, translucency, the cellular nature of its endless knotted strand, and the shadow that the lace casts as it respires from the wall.

Guided by specificity of narrative that deals with identity construction or community structures, I crochet continuous strands of fiberglass into large geometric shapes. These are formed and hardened with the application of polyester resin. Color is added to the resin prior to its application. The work engages math, an underlying principle in all of life, as a structural foundation by utilizing the grid, prime numbers, Chaos Theory, the Fibonacci sequence, and Pi.

The process of crochet and the construction of identity both involve human history, traditions, groups, constructs, patterns, interactions, influences, biases, memory, and layering and passing of time. All cultures seem to have their own lace tradition. If identity is a hybrid of our heritage, then lace is, as tradition of time, labor, and creativity, one tiny point of intersection that connects us all.

In summary, I make wall-based, indoor, translucent, durable, monumental lace that combines the past, the present, and multiple disciplines. A product of time-based manual labor that has been contemporized by the use of the industrial materials of fiberglass and polyester resin, mathematics, and the language of art and architecture.

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