“Untitled” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 9 x 9 x 4 inches. All images © Joe Davidson, shared with permission
In varying states of deflation, Joe Davidson’s pastel balloons sag, slump, and flop in every direction. The limp, elongated forms are stacked on top of one another in seemingly precarious piles and resemble latex tubes filled with days-old air. While the sculptures are playful in both color and form, the Los Angeles-based artist notes that they also hold earnest themes of masculinity and aging, two concepts he’s thinking about often.
Davidson prefers to explore new materials and those beyond the bronze, stone, and wood typically used in this medium. “I was in a period about ten years ago where I was working exclusively in Scotch tape,” he shares. His more recent interest has been in plaster, which he uses to make the balloons. “There’s something about the malleability, chalkiness, and its history that is always appealing,” he says.
Adding color has been a recent evolution and one Davidson is adjusting to still. “My work historically tends to be monochromatic, as I have usually decided to let the nature of the materials speak for themselves. However, there’s something tantalizing about the color pastel scheme (I hate pastel!). It’s awkward and pretty, enticing to touch and sarcastic at the same time,” he says.
For this particular series, the artist cites myriad references, including Jeff Koons’s balloon animals and Louise Bourgeois’s use of anthropomorphism. Overall, though, he often returns to the Dadaists and Italian Arte Povera, who “were always welcoming chance and randomness in their work,” he says.
They came from totally different viewpoints (Dada embracing the absurdity of existence post WWI and Arte Povera looking for the poetic in the mundane), but their processes really resonate with me. A critical part of the process is setting up certain parameters and letting the art fix and finish itself. I exercise a lot of control in creating the framework for a work, but I always listen to what the material is telling me it wants to do.
To follow Davidson’s playful sculptures and get a peek into his studio, head to Instagram. (via swissmiss)
“Pig Pile” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 20 x 20 x 20 inches
“Pile On” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 17 x 8 x 9 inches
“Pretender” (2017), cast tinted hydrocal, rope, screws, 77 x 42 x 10 inches
Left: “Untitled” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 8 x 8 x 6 inches. Right: “Untitled” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 7 x 6 x 6 inches
“Pile On” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 17 x 8 x 9 inches
Left: “Untitled” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 7 x 6 x 5 inches. Right: “Untitled (Poufs)” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 14 x 8 x 8 inches
“Pretender” (2017), cast tinted hydrocal, rope, screws, 77 x 42 x 10 inches
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