Kathleen Studebaker
Fragment, 2023
Cast iron, steel, brass, aluminum, walnut
6.5" x 6" x 6"

Artist Statement

This piece is a fragment of some unknown history; just a left-over piece of mysterious, broken machinery. I have a thing for mechanical objects, and for gears in particular. I find gears to be beautiful, but also meaningful: they are powerful symbols of purpose and potential. Sometimes the pieces I create tell a story; more often, as with this piece, they exist inside the context of one. While the story of this object is not clear, it is my hope that the viewer will consider its details and form, and imagine what its life may have been.

Artist Bio

Kathleen Studebaker is a multi-media sculptor focusing on wood, metal, cast plastic and a variety of other materials. She is a fabricator and all-around tinkerer, and has developed her broad knowledge-base of material processes through work in many different shops (from all-glass furniture and elaborate corporate trophies, to traditional wood working and academia). She has a great love of detailed fabrication and problem-solving, and makes every element of each of her works by hand (no CNC machines, lasers, etc). Her work often references the far-flung future, or perhaps alternate realities, and is inspired by astronomy, narrative fantasy, and the intersection of digital technology with mechanical function. She earned her MFA in sculpture from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL in 2013, and is currently working as a studio artist based in Philadelphia, PA.

www.KathleenStudebaker.com

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