.. Je est un autre"
In
France since 1986, the American artist Wayne Fischer uses the
plasticity of porcelain to create profound work which, ranging from
containers to sculpture, is an organic ode to the real.
PR O F I L from the magazin : Ateliers d´art July 2003
BY PASCALE NOBECOURT
You
have to touch Wayne Fischer's pieces. Feel the softness of their skin,
slide your fingers over their curves, stroke the slight swelling of the
veins and folds, before plunging your hand into the hole, without
really knowing what's waiting there, lurking in its depths; bottomless
space, an unknown being or just the relief of a smooth, silky mold? The
sculptures of Wayne Fischer go beyond words. They are an experience to
be lived.Their
forms undulate in space, animated by their own energy, pieces without
any beginning or end of an expanding material that appears liable to
retract suddenly and be swallowed up by the void, that black hole which
they each have inside them and which silently contemplates the
spectator. Like any work that speaks via gut feelings rather than going
via the head, Fischer's triggers strong feelings among audiences, who
either accept it or reject it, instinctively. Its strength lies in its
ability to place us face to face with ourselves. For that, there is no
need for speeches, drama or cannons... Simply rounded contours and the
luminous, satin-like texture of one of the most fragile materials
possible, porcelain, covered with pale colors ranging from pink to
bluish! And
there we are, bodies confronted with the powerful mystery of birth,
sprung sexually from the ocean depths, trembling flesh faced with the
immensity of space, naked and unknown, driven by centrifugal and
centripetal forces, curiously made up of an inside and outside and
trying to give the impression of mastering all these elements...
Fischer is fascinated by physics and astronomy which he studied for a
long time in the United States, alongside ceramics. His workshop is
full of fossils. "I like the way the world moves and I'm fascinated by
the start of life." Twenty years ago, his shapes were more literal, I resembling seeds. With time, his work has become freer and they are now more abstract and spontaneous.
The art which moves. . .
... him
is work that, while remaining contemporary, speaks of humanity in a
timeless way. He cites de Kooning and Bacon for their energy, Henry
Moore and Barbara Hepworth for their shapes and Magdalena Abakanowicz
or Carmen Dionyse for their sense of the sacred. He has also been
influenced by 25,OOO-year-old fertility statuettes like the Venus of
Lespugue. As his interest in science would suggest, he has read a lot
of Science Fiction. Fear of the unknown is a natural emotion. But
the unknown represented by others is first and foremost in oneself and
is not necessarily threatening, What is, however, is the worrying gap
between the external scientific progress achieved by humans in
scientific terms and their inner immaturity. "One of the reasons why I
make sculptures is to touch people inside, to tell them that they don't
need to be afraid and remind them of the unbelievable beauty and
variety of the universe." It's an awareness that we sorely need at the
moment, rather than ultra sophisticated weapons. .
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