Auburn 1 Sculpture

The Auburn Series (3 in the Series) were created for a gallery solo show entitled "Line and Grain". These pieces were made from black walnut planks that I purchased from a lumber mill. According to the owner of the mill, the walnut was refused by the gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson, who had planned on making gun stocks out of the wood. This wood was refused because it did not have enough curly grain in the wood. The lumber mill purchased the want and it sat in a barn in NJ for the last 10-15 years. I love the idea that this wood was slated to be made into a firearm, but in a ironic twist of fate, has now been made into art. A much better use of walnut in my opinion. My inspiration for this series was simple. I wanted to create a modern, minimalistic abstract wall sculpture in rustic wood. Not always an easy task, as the roughness of the wood tries at every turn to undercut the modern feeling of the piece. I love creating pieces that offer different and juxtaposing textures (For example, sleek and modern against rough and grainy). In the end I think I achieved my goal of making these wood wall sculptures that can be both elegant and modern, while also offering warmth and nostalgic. Finally, the name Auburn comes from the accents of Auburn coloring in all three pieces. While the colors of all three vary, they are all linked by this Auburn color, whether in paint or in rough edged , raw mahogany wood. Each wall sculpture in mounted on a heavy duty MDF backing which is painted and secured to the wood. Each piece is wired to hang and acrylic paint and washes are finished with Liquidtex semi-gloss varnish. The walnut in Auburn1 is raw and has not been treated other than sanding. The large mahogany top and bottom pieces (Whitewashed in the photos) are semi-glossed and frame the piece with a beautiful modern feel.