Steven M Allen - 2009 Gallery

2009

Year in Review:

Wow, what a year 2009 was. It was truly busy with 20 shows for the 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.