Sculptures from Nails. Nearly 30 years ago, sculptor John Bisbee was exploring an abandoned house, scavenging for items he could incorporate into found-object sculptures, when he accidentally kicked over a bucket filled with rusty, old nails. To the college students surprise, the nails that fell out had fused into a bucket-shaped chunk of metal, forming a solid object. Since then, the Maine-based artist has used nails as his sole medium to create a stunning array of large-scale sculptures and installations, keeping true to his motto of Only nails, always different. Bisbee demonstrates his creativity and the versatility of the medium by hammering, bending, and welding 12-inch spikes together into unlikely shapes and forms. His works of art range from solid, geometric structures to dense entanglements of twisted wires to delicate, floral arrangements that flow across walls. A nail, like a line, can and will do almost anything, Bisbee says in an interview with American Craft. What cant you draw with a line? The nail is just my line. According to Bisbee, well be seeing more incredible nail sculptures from him for many years to come. He shares, You’d think that you would sort of choke off your options and potential, the more you keep excavating a single item, but I find it’s the opposite—it explodes. There are so many amazing tangents that I haven’t had time to take; so many great insights that are buried years back, so it’s ever expanding, this mundane object. I’m quite happy saying now that I will only work with nails. johnbisbee
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 15:56:10 +0000