Steven M Allen - 2009 Gallery

2009

Year in Review:

Wow, what a year 2009 has been. It has truly been
busy with 20 shows under my belt this year.

I began the year returning to a favorite theme of pop
up books and added a twist with the keepsake book
series. History and story telling are both common
functions of books and these works explore both
simultaneously. A narrative unfolds as the book
opens up exposing memories and keepsakes. Each
of the items included in the book are hand built
trompe l’oeil treasures that offer clues to the
collector's secrets. We are invited to try to solve the
mystery of what the collection of items and the text on
the pages have to tell.

Large forms always have a powerful impact. The
influence of works by Jun Kaneko is evident. About
mid-year, I started a new series of large forms
created by stacking individually thrown mechanical
and organic elements. As these elements come
together, the outer form gives way to a magical inner
space. Gaps between disparate elements create
negative space inviting the viewer to look in. Watch
for the evolution of these large forms in 2010 as I
plan to give them a figurative shape.

And its politics as usual. As the state of our economy
plays a major role in works like Boat Load, Sea of
Debt and Greenback.

The focus of my work turned towards the train series
toward the end of the year. Crumbling bridges and
mountains were added to create an setting for the
trains and to give them a lift. The homage series
continues with new trains honoring Viola Frey and
Peter Voulkos completed at the end of the year.

Finally, in the summer I began to explore the effects
of contained firing environments to mimic the effects
of pit-firing. With great success and interesting
results, I found I like the saggar results better than
the pit. While I miss the community environment that
goes along with pit-firing, I love the instant results
and relative ease of firing the saggar in a raku kiln.
See result at the bottom of this page.