Fall/Winter 2007/08 Exhibitions

October 7, 2007 - April 27, 2008

In the Museum Building, Enclosures features sculptures by four artists—Jon Isherwood, John Ruppert, Wendy Ross, and Foon Sham—whose works, although varied in medium and artistic approach are united by the idea of “the enclosed space.”  Enclosures invites each visitor to interpret, develop and follow their own connective thread throughout the exhibition by exploring the metaphorical, conceptual, and literal definitions of the word enclosure. 

For example, in viewing Jon Isherwood’s stone works, the visitor is asked to be conscious of their form and tumescent shape, and to consider his sculptures as vessels, perhaps even as containers for ideas, thoughts, and questions.  Visitors are encouraged to examine the patterning and layering on the works’ surfaces created by computer numerical technology and hand craftsmanship. 

 John Ruppert’s chain-link pieces prompt the viewer to reflect on the unique medium utilized to convey one of the artist’s great influences on his work—his travels and interest in past civilizations.  Light and shadows also play a role in Ruppert’s choice of medium—a structural open-weave fabric that gives the works their curved shapes and defines the interior and exterior spaces. 

 Upon closer examination the viewer can guess at Wendy Ross’ source of inspiration for her intricately engineered constructions—nature and its hidden designs and patterns.  Her bio-geometric metal forms explore volumes of space that are linked by lines, arcs, and curves.  Additionally, the works seem to possess an internal energy and life. 

 Finally, the visitor is conscious of Sham’s love of wood as a medium.  Incorporating principles of design, his architectural works are beautifully balanced wherein there is an achieved harmony between form and force.  Further, the works evoke a sense of environment, inviting visitors to physically enter and leave the space.

 Organic and abstract in nature, each of the works in the exhibition engage the visitor in a dialogue—at times asking one to acknowledge the contrasts between the negative and positive spaces, to understand the properties of light, to observe the interplay of texture with symmetry and balance, or to contemplate the artists’ intellectual impetus for creating a given body of work.  We invite you to further unlock the mystery of “the enclosed space” by reading the artists’ own statements included in this companion guide and likewise visiting their websites.

Jon Isherwood
Artwook Courtesy of the Artist

Soliloquy, 2006
Champlain marble
41" x 29" x 27"

Before we knew, 2007
Champlain marble
11" x 52" x 12"

Things are not always what they seem, 2003
travertine
24" x 34" x 32"

Radianthus, 2001 coiled, welded steel, powder coat 156" x 84" x 84"

Volvox, 1998 coiled and welded steel, powder coat 60" x 60" x 60"

Haiku, 1998 welded steel, powder coat 60" x 60" x 60"

Annulus, 2004 aluminum chain-link fabric, stainless steel 36" x 36" x 36"

Crucible II, 2006 aluminum chain-link fabric, stainless steel 120" x 138" x 138"

Gourd, 2006 galvanized steel chain-link fabric, stainless steel 62" x 90" x 90"

Squeeze, 2004 oak and other species 105" x 60" x 120"

S Column 2, 2004 walnut, cherry 24" x 8" x 13"

Spiral Vessels, 2006 Philippine mahogany 32" x 45" x 65"