The exhibition “Transmutation” is opening this weekend in LA at the Toy Art Gallery. The show features the polymer clay work of Meredith Dittmar. Her playful and brightly colored works represent a unique mixture of serous themes which include biology, technology, and consciousness. She’s interest in creating a human-animal-plant-energy hybrids within the work which speaks to a in-depth connection concerning relevant life systems.
“I first touched polymer clay 18 years ago, and very rapidly after, I began to create characters. A constant stream of unique faces numbering in the thousands have emerged from my fingertips. They gave my busy hands a job and brought me many varied commercial opportunities, but more importantly, guided me towards art and the realization that I am an artist for the long haul. Over the years the characters varied quite a bit in subject, size, and realism; and more recently, have left my work almost entirely.
Throughout this transition I have frequently reflected on what this natural departure of the character might signify in the context of my life and work. Why get rid of them? They were, after all, what I built my career on. I kept hearing how much people really connected to the expressions, in particular the eyes. But I began to feel like, just maybe, they mistakenly thought they loved the character and its eyes, but what they really loved was what was coming through its eyes. I’ve been driven to find out just what is coming through the eyes that people connect with so greatly, and that exploration had been the basis of my artwork ever since. Using the strongest character at my disposal (myself) I began to look deeper and deeper.
Shockingly- the attachment to the concept of MY character seemed to be the very thing getting in the way. So it began, somewhat against my choice, the systematic stripping away of the character. observing it, splitting it and looking behind it, until there was no thing and no one left. Working on this show allowed me to revisit character work as the plain ole’ fun and free activity it is, and has always been for me. While at the same time, I got to continue to dig under the story of the transmutation of my own “character”. The result is a merger of the two practices, arriving at a recognition of the underlying truth of both as the same.” – Meredith Dittmar
The “Transmutation” opening is this Saturday, June 16th from 7-10pm and runs through June 30th.
