Artist's Statement
David Newton
Artist’s Statement, 2010
Recently my work has been moving steadily in the direction of interactive situations that are meant to encourage centering in the participants. Projects like Stillpoint and the Violet Ray Shed use sacred geometry to locate a space that might be termed ideal. Even projects like Hilltown contain elements of this attempt to reflect the ideal in geometric form, as the chipboard structures are the result of investigations into sacred geometry.
I am still drawn to make stand-alone pieces as well. Below you can see some reflections on that work.
This work is generally about pressure, which it seeks to convey viscerally through the employment of three forces: tension, suspension and compression. I am also interested in conveying an impression of instability, which is expressed through occasionally off-kilter forms and structures. The ideas of pressure and instability do not need to be seen as negatives, as it is through forces like these that change is brought about. Since it is obviously an expression of who I am, this work is often humorous and colorful, which helps to balance the sometimes loaded subject. The intent is to reflect my own interior landscape as well as the state of the world today.
The sculptures sometimes include wheels, which highlights the tragicomic reality that most of us are rolling around, trying to keep it together. The use of common materials, such as found objects and standard hardware, also serves to connect the works to our everyday lives. Likewise, the apparent or actual interactivity of many of the sculptures invites the viewer to think of them in connection to themselves.