the work
Art Review: CMU exhibits produce balance
By Mary Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
October 17, 2007
Although both trained as architects and both have been guided by a sensibility to their chosen material, the late American woodworker George Nakashima and sculptor Dee Briggs of Pittsburgh and New York would seem an unlikely exhibition match. But the warmth of his organic forms and the cool minimalism of hers provide balance and initiate discussion at the Regina Gouger Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University….
…Nakashima continues to be internationally exhibited, nearly two decades after his death, while Briggs is a star fast rising. This is her first solo exhibition and the generously sized CMU galleries allowed, perhaps challenged, her to increase the scale of her work. This she has achieved admirably.
Maquettes of her sculpture, completed and proposed, are shown with figures of varying height to indicate scale, and most appear visually to have promise of succeeding whether sized for room or for plaza. The technical demands of material are another consideration, but Briggs seems up to the task. Working mainly in steel and bronze, she does, for the most part, her own fabricating, so has an intrinsic knowledge of the metal’s possibilities.
As opposed to the rigor of a sculptor like Richard Serra, Briggs infuses steel with grace, taming it without mellowing it.
The steel pieces here comprise either flat rectangular plates or open rings, the former solidly grounded, though appearing to have the potential to drift slowly off like a manta ray, while the latter encircle volumes of space, incorporating it as part of the whole.
A suspended work, “18 Rings, 3′ Diameter” which Briggs welded in place, is deceptively light and airy in appearance, its flowing line resembling drawing more than sculpture, finding agility beyond what its material suggests. As the viewer moves around and through it, different configurations of line reveal themselves. Angular shifts in direction at the rings’ joinings introduce tension that adds complexity and takes this piece beyond a harmonious exercise in repetitive forms.
Briggs worked in stainless steel for the first time in “5 Rings/5′ 6′ 7′ Diameter,” her largest rings composition to date. It also contains the first mechanical connection she’s used. Though free-standing, it exhibits the same freedom from harness as the suspended work; expansive in reach, it’s filled with movement and almost whimsy, as also are the “Plates” designs.
Underlying Briggs’ work, and providing its unique and firm skeletal base, is adherence to a theoretical concern called chirality or handedness, wherein pieces are composed of only two basic elements, the left- and right-handed versions of the same maneuver, such as the lean of a curve.
The elegance of her work, then, arises from the complexity of its underpinnings as well as the simplicity of its exterior.
Catalog Essay
Petra Fallaux, Director / Curator
Regina Gouger Miller Gallery
The power of repeated forms and patterning in Dee Briggs’ steel sculptures result in a beautiful fluidity. Composed of heavy metal, the sculptures possess a surprising airy quality. The work simultaneously hides and reveals a daring and high caliber systemization that speaks to our desire for perceptual order. Visual planes are constantly redefined by the viewpoint of the observer. But while the sculptures may appear random, positive and negative spaces are strictly determined by Briggs’ explorations in geometry and symmetry.
Briggs is primarily driven by her relationship with her material – metal, particularly steel. Her determination to do all of her own fabrication – though not trained in metalworking – is one of her strong assets. While pursuing her master’s degree in architecture, she fell in love with the iterative process of design and experimentation with materials and various fabrication processes. She discovered that she preferred to literally have her hands on the materials, participating in the building and fabrication throughout the entire process.
In making her sculptures, Briggs is equally motivated by both the conceptual as well as the hands-on fabrication process. Her love of the process of conceiving and making the work is evident from her study models. For example, the paper iterations of plated work accompanied by people of various sizes are an excellent illustration of her conceptual thinking and give us many insights into the process of conceiving and making the final sculptures. Being involved from beginning to end, and forever deepening her understanding of spatial relations and metal properties, are important aspects of the seductions of Briggs’ artistic journey.
For this exhibit, her first solo show, Briggs magnified the scale of her work in response to the voluminous Miller Gallery space. She long had had a desire to scale up her work. The larger and seemingly sturdy steel sculptures possess surprising tensile action. Balancing tension and compression of the metal –whether in planes or rings– became the biggest challenge with the change in scale. The results, though, are phenomenal. As we approach the larger work we are no longer just captivated by the visual rhythms, but also by the enveloping properties, as the work is now large enough to hold our bodies, with possible viewpoints from within.
The new scale of Briggs’ work holds many promises for new directions. But it is the strong material focus and spatial inventiveness of her investigations that ultimately give the work its laser sharp voice.