Open Doors
Completed
2023
Medium
Red powder coated aluminum
Dimensions
77 x 41 x 31"
Cost
$13,000
Description
In observing “what is essential is invisible to the eye,” The Little Prince in Saint-Exupery’s story reminds us of our limited perception. What we’re seeing is only part of the story and can even be illusory – camouflaging or misdirecting our attention away from some of the more subtle and important aspects of what we are observing. This evanescent quality of observation has been a lifelong curiosity for me. As a teenager, I was interested in magic, with its two realities: what observers see and what is really going on. As a sculptor, although less involved with deceit, I’m often dealing with some of the same issues. Suspension has qualities of levitation. Reflection and use of mirrors can warp one’s sense of how a space is configured. And certainly, what’s underneath or behind the plane that is most visible, suggests that something important lurks ‘behind the curtain.’ My work employs novel methods of folding and forming materials including metal, glass and wire mesh and often incorporates hidden reflective surfaces and the use of perspective that defies easy comprehension. The forms seem simple: An open box. A tabletop. But their apparent simplicity belies an underlying attempt to expose the fallacy of understanding what is real. In sculpture, this is immediately apparent in the sense that we are only seeing one view at a time, the experience changing as we view a work from different positions. But there are also the reflections, shadows, negative space, and in the case of layered planes, the interior spaces that are easy to miss and require time for them to reveal their secrets. Beyond the literal gaps in perception, there are metaphoric issues at play. The fact that our perceptions of reality are limited and arguably missing much of the good stuff, underscores a central challenge in my work – changing the way we experience reality without completely abandoning it.
About this Artist
Dan Droz
Dan Droz is a Pittsburgh based sculptor whose large-scale freestanding and wall-based works incorporate folds, reflection and artificial glows to draw attention to the limits of perception. He is recognized for developing novel methods for forming metal, glass and wire mesh. His work has been included in numerous solo and juried exhibitions including the Westmoreland Museum of Art, the Pittsburgh International Airport, the Harrisburg Art Center and commissions for both commercial and private collections. Droz has been the recipient of many awards including the Mary Phillips Award for Sculpture from Seton Hill University, ID Magazine’s “Designer of Year” and “Best of America” by Abitari (Italy). For 17 years Droz served on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), teaching in both the College of Fine Arts and Business School, where he co-founded the first university program in the U.S. to bring together engineers, MBA’s, artists and designers in a…
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