John Okulick at Nancy Hoffman Gallery

JOHN OKULICK

John Okulick, The Breakup of Time, 2003,
aluminum, polyester resin, 72 x 72 x 7 inches

John Okulick exhibits free-standing and wall sculptures at Nancy Hoffman Gallery October 9th through November 5th, 2003.

During the past four years, John Okulick has worked on numerous public commissions, most of them in metal for outdoor installation. He has created free-standing grand scale sculptures, metalwork design on buildings, gateways and monumental, sculptural fences. In his last gallery exhibition, Okulick was moving away from exclusive use of woodÑhis signature materialÑtoward metal as a structural anchor for his wall sculptures. Now his sculpture in metal shares center stage with his sculpture in wood.

John Okulick, Ice Bubbles, 2003,
aluminum, polyester resin, 32 x 28 x 7 inches

John Okulick, Razor, 2003,
aluminum, 48 x 50 x 6 inches

New forms and shapes enliven the artist's daring recent pieces. Pushing his vocabulary of trompe l'oeil and illusion to a new arena, the sculptures have movement, energy, dynamism and a sense of play. Okulick often defies the inherent nature of his materials, blending or twisting a material for sculptural impact. And impact is the word that best describes John Okulick's new abstract work.

The artist writes: "My sculpture is a platform from which the viewer can take a ride. That ride can be a flight of fancy or a journey through a vast open space, toward a feeling of freedom. Layers in my sculpture create visual density evoking the physical layers that surround us. There are references to buildings, automobiles, machines, time and movement; elements of society that refer in an abstract way to current events.

John Okulick, Thunder Head, 2003,
aluminum, 34 x 30 x 9 inches

"I use shapes and depth to create spatial tension. By layering sequential components, I present a contrast between the natural and the forced and between rigid and loose. The work offers a visual and physical intensity while maintaining an effortless appearance to a complex structure. Control of the building components gives a sense of order yet there is an implied movement. A Modernist restraint appears in the structures that embody architectural, social and economic self-reflection. Reality is distorted in a way that elevates and confronts the viewer. The undiscovered possibilities drive my creative process.

John Okulick, Tip Top, 2003,
aluminum, graphite, 32 x 32 x 3 inches

"This exhibition is a combination of mostly metal and polyester resin wall constructions and several lathed wooden sculptural columns. Metal has been of recurring interest to me for its reflective qualities, strength and welding characteristics. The pieces presented are made of aluminum. The metal has properties that are attractive and yet are less tactile and stand-alone. I find this reflective of our times. I have introduced transparent polyester resin which I am using as a veil that represents transparency or the ability to see through the surface, another reflection of the times.

John Okulick, Winter Swan, 2003,
aluminum, polyester resin, 72 x 66 x 7 inches

John Okulick, Flame, 2003, painted wood, gold leaf, 27 x 6 x 6 inches, plus 72 x 14 x 14 inch base
John Okulick, Penthouse, 2003, painted wood , 25 x 10 x 10 inches, plus 69 x 14 x 14 inch base
John Okulick, Cloud Raiser, 2003, painted wood, 31 x 7 x 7 inches, plus 72 x 14 x 14 inch base

"I have made three wooden columns with turned shapes projecting from the tops. These invite the viewer to look upward and see layers of color spinning upwards, like a flower. What was a flower has fallen. For me, spun shapes refer to the continuum of replenishing nature and the human spirit."

John Okulick, Spent Flower, 2003,
painted wood, aluminum, plexiglass, 48 x 45 x 8 inches

John Okulick, Toy Works, 2003,
painted wood, 45 x 42 x 7 inches

Okulick's work has been exhibited widely in this country at the Albuquerque Museum of Art, New Mexico; The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut; The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock; California Art Center, Pasadena; Center for the Arts, Vero Beach, Florida; Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu; The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California; Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington; Denver Art Museum, Colorado; Flint Institute of Arts, Michigan; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Honolulu Academy of the Arts, Hawaii; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; The Jewish Museum, San Francisco; Laguna Beach Museum of Art, California; La Jolla Museum of Art, California; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, California; The Oakland Museum, California; Palm Springs Desert Museum, California; Riverside Art Museum, California; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California; San Diego Museum of Art, California; The Taft Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio, among others; and abroad at La Foret Museum, Tokyo and Nagoya City Museum, Nagoya, Japan.

The artist's work is represented in many major public collections, among them The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu; Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; Memphis Museum of Art, Tennessee; Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, California; The Oakland Museum, California; Palm Springs Desert Museum, California; Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond and abroad at Il Museo delle Ceramiche Grazia, Deruta, Italy and Power Gallery of Contemporary Art, University of Sydney, Australia.

John Okulick, Adversaries, 2003,
aluminum, 13 x 7 x 6 inches

John Okulick, Tear, 2003,
aluminum, polyester resin, 13 x 7 x 6 inches

His work has been commissioned for the California Science Center, Los Angeles; Capitol Area East End Complex, Sacramento; Challengers Boys ands Girls Club of Los Angeles; Chatsworth Metrolink Station, Los Angeles County Transportation Authority; Culver City Police Department; Culver City Storage Facility; Homestead Village, Brea; Los Angeles Harbor Building, World Port Los Angeles, International Center, San Pedro; Los Angeles World Airport Terminal 3; California; Palisades Branch Library, Pacific Palisades; The Ronald Reagan State Building, Los Angeles; Valley Transportation Authority, Milpitas; Van Nuys State Office Building, all in California; McCormick Convention Complex Collection, Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, Chicago, Illinois and City of Reno, Regional Transportation Office and Conference Center, Nevada.

John Okulick, Tumbler, 2003,
painted wood, 25 x 6 x 6 inches