The artwork features a delicate, ornate frame composed of intricate floral and scroll motifs, encasing a small landscape painting. The frame's intricate silver filigree design creates a sense of delicacy and elegance, drawing the viewer's attention to the central image. The landscape painting, with its muted colors and hazy atmosphere, evokes a sense of nostalgia and tranquility. The artist's intention may have been to create a harmonious balance between the ornamental frame and the serene landscape, reflecting the juxtaposition of the decorative and the natural. ...
Fish on a chopping board (Human suffering, depression and helplessness are like a beheaded fish on a chopping board, but at this very moment we are still happy), 2018
For the past 30 years, Joel Otterson has made sculpture, which combines aspects of domestic handicraft with traditional sculptural materials. Copper pipe, woodworking, pottery, porcelain, china, earthenware, concrete, marble, stained glass, quilting and lacemaking are the raw materials of Otterson’s sculpture. Utilizing practices such as sewing, and quilting, traditionally associated with feminine craft making, Otterson turns these humble materials into muscular art. The artist blurs the line between high and low culture, art and craft to create poignant sculptures, which are both utilitarian and de-constructivist sculptural objects. Through this endeavor, Otterson explores various cultural and political phenomena such as Rock N Roll, Baseball, and what it means to be an American. ...
