Exhibition Information
Artist: Sara Pennington
Exhibition: Group exhibition, Sculpture
Media: Metal, clay, wax
Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Gatov Gallery West and East
About the Artist
Sara Pennington is currently a student in the school of art at CSULB. Part of a group exhibition, Sara’s sculptures are part of the Afterburn exhibition. Described in the exhibition’s statement, afterburn is a sensation the body feels after excess stress strain or trauma. Sara had two pieces, as shown above.
Formal Analysis
The first piece is a large metalwork structure. It is composed of a base ring, and then welded to the rind are iron bars, creating a circle that could almost resemble a cage. This piece also has a top piece similar to the base welded on. The bars creating the sculpture are not straight; they create an uneven profile, asymmetric as you look at the piece. The second piece was a trio of parts, similar in structure, made of wax and clay rings, with two pieces looking like parts to a whole These “broken pieces have metal nails driven through them, and all three parts are hanging from strings on the wall.
Content Analysis
These pieces, along with the rest of the exhibition, were put in the show with “afterburn” in mind. These pieces were meant to exhibit a sense of unease and in some ways, trauma. Along with the atmosphere of the whole exhibition, these metal pieces add to a sense of unrest and trauma, which can be achieved by the way the structure and pieces are arranged. The jagged nails on the arced disks of the second piece give off a strange sensation, which when considering the whole room, adds to the feeling of afterburn sought after.
Synthesis / My Experience
This experience was different from what I expected. The overall gallery was filled with strange pieces that were quite unexpected and different than what I typically think of when I think of an art gallery. Yet even with the strangeness of the exhibition, I thought the pieces displayed were interesting, and in the end the whole experience was enjoyable. Sara’s pieces added in quite a unique way to the exhibition, and the strong rigid structures of her pieces were interesting to consider.
Ronald Art110 