Statement
In my recent sculptural work, I advance concerns of gravity, mechanics, flexibility, structure, and form that have motivated me since the early stages of my career. I have taken inspiration from 19th century mechanical systems, toys from my childhood, Latin American 20th Century non-objective art, and late modernist cubic sculptures. My works employ humble materials and processes that are intrinsic to the resulting forms, which are sometimes confounding in their visual simplicity.
For the past ten years, I’ve been working with the idea of mutable form; first in stainless steel wire, then PVC rod, polyester rope, fabric, and now MDF, strapping, buckles, and hinges. I’ve often said that my works do not move, but that they have moved before reaching a point of resolution. Because of this mutability, their form is provisional. Many of the works are capable of resolving into a number of different configurations. In addition, the method of connecting the MDF panels in the most recent work with hinges or through a weaving of straps lends a tenuous and temporary nature to their assembly.
A common aspect of all of my work is the tendency to give rise to the questions, “What am I looking at, how do I relate to it, and how do I understand it?” Such self-reflexive viewing is my goal, as an artist’s role is to remind us of our capacity to wonder.
—Daniel G. Hill, March 2024
