Alice Adams
Artist Statement:
I have always liked the simplicity of building materials like wood lath, two by fours, and siding. At the same time, their ubiquitousness allows them to be made into abstract configurations, concentrating on the character of the edges and how the face of the relief relates to the wall around it.
In 1969, I moved my studio into one half of a floor at 246 Bowery. The works made in that studio reflect and embody the character of its walls and physical space. The work represented an important change in direction for me, differing as it did from the work that Lucy Lippard included in the exhibition Eccentric Abstraction at the Fischbach Gallery in NYC in 1966.
The first series of sculptures that I made on the Bowery were constructed of metal lath corner bead covered with latex, silicone rubber, or polyester resin. These pieces fit onto an actual corner, or were mounted on or leaned against a wall. Following that, I began a series of works using wood lath incorporated into latex casts of the studio walls which were then peeled off, removing the surface of the wall with them. They were mounted on frameworks made of wooden two by fours with the 16” on center dimensions of conventional wall framing. The work following employed such frameworks with wood lath alone.
Artist Biography:
Alice Adams (b.1930) is an American artist best known for her site-specific land art installations and public projects she made in the 80s and 90s for airports, university campuses, and transit systems in the United States. Her early work in tapestry and woven forms in the 1950s was important in the American fiber art movement. In the 60s, Adams moved on to working as a sculptor in New York City, combining her prior training as a weaver with her new interest in architectural forms. Her sculptures during this period explored elements of the wall, the corner, the column, and the vault. Throughout her practice, Adams revisited flexible materials, specifically through her use of cast latex and formed aluminum wire. She saw her work as a means of drawing people into spaces that are initially familiar but that later appear new. She used recognizable building materials like wood lath, covering or partially covering frameworks to create free-standing partitions, columns, and vaults. Her practice and contributions to “anti-form” abstraction from this era saw little recognition until just recently.
AAA:
Member Since: 1960
