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David Altmejd in "Boundaries"
In his studio in New York City, French Canadian artist David Altmejd constructs The Vessel (2011) and The Swarm (2011), massive Plexiglass and plaster sculptures that Altmejd describes as “laboratories” within which he can experiment with different materials and ideas, contrasting images of menace with sensual tenderness.
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With an almost childlike fascination for objects that grow, transform, and reshape themselves, David Altmejd creates sculptures, suffused with ornament, that blur distinctions between interior and exterior, surface and structure, representation and abstraction. Meaning, for Altmejd, does not exist in advance of the work in process. His interest lies in the making—the building of an object that will generate meaning. Using armatures in the forms of giants and angels that convey both human and supernatural energies, he abandons standard narrative conventions in favor of an exploration of materials, processes, and structures.
David Altmejd
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David Altmejd
David Altmejd
“I don’t need to make sketches of the sculptures I make, before I make them. Because I don’t think that there’s a lot of difference between putting ink on a piece of paper and, you know, gluing little pieces of crystal on plexiglass in space.”
David Altmejd