Nature and Geometry Blend in Beguiling Symmetry in Oliver Chalk’s Voluminous Timber Vessels



All photos © Oliver chalk, shared with permission

Solely two years in the past, Canterbury, U.Ok.-based artist Oliver Chalk started creating daring, geometric vessels out of wooden. Having labored beforehand with material to design and produce large-scale installations for occasions, his curiosity in experimentation with new supplies and strategies led to working with discovered timber. Carving detailed varieties from the hulks of bushes discovered within the native countryside of Kent, the artist considers the apply of turning and whittling sculptures to be a way of communication and an expression of self via symmetrical shapes and striations. The method of repeating a mark again and again typically produces a state of mindfulness. “Imparting my mark via gouging a whole lot, if not 1000’s, of seemingly arbitrary fissures by hand is a profoundly private journey,” he tells Colossal.

The sustainability and native sourcing of the supplies is a vital a part of Chalk’s method. The entire wooden he gathers comes from native species that he collects from native arborists or forages near his workshop, discovering cuts from bushes which were felled by storms or are partly decaying. The shapes he chips into every bit replicate a merging of nature and the man-made. “Being self taught, I’m nonetheless very a lot listening and studying in regards to the materials,” he says. In every vessel he highlights the pure gradations of colour, progress rings, knots, and fissures, emphasizing the connection between natural type and geometric precision.

Chalk’s work is included within the exhibition Linear Expression at Gallery 57 till June 25. You will discover extra data on his website and on Instagram. (by way of Lustik)

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