"Balancing Act 2" Sculpture

ARTIST STATEMENT

Todd Gray

I cannot escape my love for Pop Art. I never could. It's part of my DNA.

I was born in the same year that Pop Art emerged into the spotlight of the fine art world, and its imagery has had a profound influence on my life and my work. The clean lines, bold colors, powerful graphics, and extraordinary simplicity of the movement have always fascinated me. I love the way Pop Art can communicate complex ideas through the simplest of means.

My work is built around much the same philosophy. I use simple geometric forms, often reminiscent of the building blocks I played with as a child, as the foundation for my sculptures. Through bold colors, clean lines, carefully considered imagery, and strong design, I transform these familiar shapes into something entirely different.

My intention has always been to create my own unique and recognizable visual language. Something that, in today's world, is no small accomplishment.

In many ways, I'm doing what the great Pop artists did before me. Warhol had his soup cans and Brillo boxes. Lichtenstein had his comic strips. Robert Indiana had his numbers. They borrowed from the popular culture of their time and transformed familiar imagery into something extraordinary.

I'm continuing that tradition, but through my own interpretation of contemporary culture. Cartoons, superheroes, social media, hashtags, emojis, iconic brands, and the endless stream of imagery that surrounds us have all become part of our collective visual vocabulary.

What interests me is taking these familiar elements, sometimes sampling imagery from the past, sometimes drawing from the present, and combining them in unexpected ways to create something new, relevant, and distinctly my own.

The Pop artists of the 1950s and 1960s helped redefine what could be considered fine art. I see my work as a continuation of that conversation, bringing together the influences of yesterday with the visual culture of today.

After more than four decades as an artist, I still find myself driven by the same things that fascinated me from the beginning: color, form, imagery, and the endless possibilities of creating something that makes people stop, look, think, and hopefully smile.

I live and work in Los Angeles, California.