Barbara Liotta
Sun Pliade
Brazilian Granites and Lift Cord
10′ x 1′ x 1′
2020
$4,000
_____
Artist Statement
I make sculpture of suspended shattered stone. Most of my work relies on the clean balance among its elements – the formal parallels of the suspending cord, the violence of the shattered marble, and, often, the cascade of cord below. The verticals ‘breathe’ but remain plumb. The rock, a variety of marbles and granites, holds the raw energy. (There is a violence to shattering these beautiful stones. ) In some pieces there is also a cascade of loose cord pooling on the ground below adding a graceful chaotic element to the work. In other pieces the stones themselves cascade downward.
The strict restraints I apply to my materials are essential. By limiting my materials to the cord and the stone, the work is able to sing out clearly and directly, unencumbered by decoration. Suspension and the promise of movement are fundamental to the piece.
All of the work floats between the lyrical and the formal, the powerful and the melodious, the violent and the beautiful. I strive for a sort of essence; a clarity that will allow the work grace but not prettiness, rhythm but not contrivance, balance but not stiffness. It will animate, as well as inhabit, its space. The work should be as clear as chamber music and as graceful as a dance.
