Nick van Woert
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Work from his oeuvre.
“Van Woert, on the other hand, addresses classical sculpture through his totemic works, which feature busts of Franz Schubert or David and, in the case of “New Order,” Ionic proportions. However, where one might expect classical materials, van Woert favors a kind of Home Depot aesthetic, employing insulation foam, plexiglass, and sculpted heaps of polyurethane adhesive. This subversion continues as van Woert riffs on the use of the pedestal in classical sculpture, in which an ostensible vehicle for an unmitigated presentation of the work becomes an agent of obfuscation. In both “New Order” and “Fool’s Gold,” classical busts are removed from atop the pedestal, deformed, and incorporated into the columns themselves. In the stunning “Blind Spot,” a coal-black bust of David is bisected at eye level, where a precarious wooden pedestal is inserted. No longer relegated to a supporting role, the figure of the pedestal has been shoehorned into the work of art itself..” – John Motley for The Portland Mercury