Matthew J. Schaefer and Janet Trierweiler – Going to Work

An exhibition of our collaborative paintings, "Between You and Me", at Gallery Uno in November of 2012, created the opportunity to construct an on-site sculpture. The gallery is small, yet highly visible with large windows on two sides and one prominent exhibition wall.

To begin the installation, we chose a painting that had been an exciting turning point in our work, placing it high on the exhibition wall. At the foot of the wall, extending into the gallery, a white drop cloth, 6'x9', defined the workspace for the sculpture.

We chose as building material, colorful sticks that had been used for mixing paint. We liked the elemental quality of this material and having a large quantity available made this a good choice. We supplemented our supply with sticks of unpainted raw wood.

To keep the process fluid, we used two hot glue guns to connect the paint sticks, making spontaneous decisions possible by the rapid setting of the glued connections. We worked simultaneously, yet independent of the other. Making the effort to bring our full awareness to the attachments created a meditation.

This meditation opened a peripheral response to the ongoing construction. Working during business hours in the highly visible space, our intention was to use the construction as a performance or "action" as well as a sculpture. To commit to this "action" we did not respond or react to the onlookers.

Within the prolonged duration of each work session, we allowed the structure to grow organically, without personal input into size and aesthetic. After several work sessions we recognized the sculpture's spiritual connection to the painting and an overall sense of harmony, feeling that we had reached a conclusion. At this conclusion the structure had reached over 6ft.

It was our desire to take the lessons learned in the paintings into a three dimensional project. The lessons challenge our expression and skill as well as using the fluidity of the medium to express the natural order of the random. The origin of the random, the forms, are done with an emphasis on precise workmanship. The attachments in the sculpture become a meditation, taking all of our attention away from the outcome, diverting our mind from preconceived aesthetic decisions. We discover in this process, an organic partnership between our skills and a higher order.

Matthew Schaefer
Janet Trierweiler
2013

ArtExhibitionLink
www.artexhibitionlink.com