Is sculpture invisible?

Looking at Art:

Have you ever heard the saying, “Sculptures are what gets in the way when you are trying to look at the paintings”? I don’t recall where I heard this, but I recently attended an art reception that included a gallery of work by a sculptor. There were pieces on the walls and on pedestals and in order to get to another show which included mostly painting, you had to walk through the sculpture exhibition. As I stood in this second gallery, I asked a friend at the reception if she liked the sculpture. She told me she had not seen it, although she had to walk by it to get to the paintings. Do we observe only that which interests us and filter out the rest?

To complicate matters, on June 30th, the New York Times published an article called “Now You See the Art in A. R. Now You Don’t”. Using artificial reality, an app on your phone can allow you to see sculptures on the High Line in New York City that are not there. So now I guess sculpture can actually be invisible!

Work in the Studio:

As a sculptor and painter I have noticed that those familiar with my art are often drawn to either the three-dimensional work or the two-dimensional art and they rarely seem to favor both equally. I have always wondered why this is the case. At the same time, I sometimes find sculptural frames more interesting than the paintings they surround. I believe paintings speak a different language than sculpture since they rely on the illusion of space and light. Perhaps this explains why people react differently to them. What do you think?

Female Back, Ceramic Wall Sculpture, 12” x 9” x3”