Sculptor Katie Grinnan first unveiled the sculpture “Mirage” in 2011, offering an exploration of movement and space. Constructed from friendly plastic, sand, and enamel, the piece first debuted as part of an exhibition at Brennan & Griffin. The piece is actually a cast of Grinnan’s own body, set in various poses during a yoga routine. The work also calls back to Hindu art, in which gods display several limbs and omnipresence.
The 2011 exhibit was followed by a prolific string of sculptures and multi-site projects, all tackling the idea of space in varying ways. Her musically inclined “Astrology Orchestra” was explained as such: “The Astrology Orchestra is a system-based composition that uses astrology to map out my birth chart from the perspective of the planets in our solar system. Each chart is radically different from the next due to the planet’s position in space. The planetary transits from these charts translate into strings and notes, each set of sounds representing a planetary perspective.”
A more recent project, “Nocturnal Hologram,” combines sand, friendly plastic, and “inkjet prints on protoplast made from photograms of dream images.”Unlike the absorbing, yet disparate objects of the mixed-media work “Enter Face,” “Nocturnal Hologram” is a cohesive, seemingly organic blend of dreamlike forms. All, depending on the perspective and proximity between viewer and art, offer something different with each decision.
Sculpting small-scale worlds is all in a day’s work for Korean artist