Land of Plenty
6’ 6” x 2’ 4” x 3’ 2”
Steel
2016
2016 FSP/Jerome Fellow
Artist Statement
Inspiration comes from elements of the natural world – light, wind, dark, snow, sound, smoke, ice, fire, water. The natural order of things – tension, growth, balance, inertia, corrosion, etc. Also, human presence – human behavior, structure, physics, chemistry and industry. I am interested in how we humans interact with, experience, create, adapt, adapt to and understand these elements/phenomena/devices. The sculptures are mostly site specific. The majority of the works are created and sited to direct the viewer into an active or activated relationship with the work, creating the experience and partly using experience as a maker of meaning. An uneasiness sometimes results from the relationship set up between the orientation of the work within the space, the composition of the work and the viewer. In Quietus (2014), the viewer is presented with 5, 4’ x 8’ x 1” slabs held in a large steel arc. Approaching from the gallery entrance, the slabs are opaque white. Moving to the concave side of the work, the slabs are luminous and amber. The slabs are improvised Ballistic Gelatin. It is translucent when back lit. Ballistic Gelatin possess the same volume of water and density as human tissue. It was developed to replicate the human body for the testing of bullets and anti-personnel munitions by government agencies and defense contractors. The work has a quiet beauty that belies the nature of its materials. Natural Beauty (2014) explores smoke, generated by burning, as an object occupying space. The viewer is surrounded by smoke, but not immersed in it. Alarm and the need for action are often our reactions when confronted by smoke. The viewer is protected, allowing him/her to observe the beauty of its billowing building, rolling, rising, lingering and thinning. Likely for the first time, the viewer can closely observe this element of our world.
Rollin Marquette
Born: Pennsville, NJ, USA, 1968
Resides: Minneapolis, MN, USA
Education
MFA, State University of New York – Albany, 1995
BS, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, 1991