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Artist Statement for John Searles
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The wall sculptures of John Searles reflect his enduring interests in mathematics, visual pleasure, energy and freedom. Working with copper, brass, stainless steel or aluminum, sometimes melting one on the other, these wall sculptures are puzzle pieces. Searles cuts up one piece of patinated metal into many then reassembles them into a more visually stimulating, higher level of order, often large-scale. Some of his sculptures are weavings, but all have some component of an under-over dimensional quality. His purpose is to delight the brain and visual center in a non-cerebral manner. Think of his work as being Music for the Eyes.
Much of Searles’ recent work has been with copper, creating large wall sculptures with a variety of patinas. Copper is a miraculous material that can be readily shaped then colored with flame and/or chemicals to create a remarkably large palette, including varying shades of reds, browns, yellows, greens, blacks, blues and rainbow hues. In addition to the standard practices of welding, brazing and soldering, Searles has developed a proprietary technique of laminating the colored copper to wood. Geometric shapes are cut, one from inside the other then reassembled into an imaginative wall sculpture possessing depth and dimension. It’s a time-consuming, labor-intensive process but, as a labor of love, the results justify the effort.
Searles works in a 5600 square foot old factory building near the Eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The front of the building is a light-filled gallery of his work. Searles finished art school more than 25 years ago and has been intently developing new ideas since. Recent clients include Deloitte & Touche in Milwaukee, the Hilton Hotel in Hartford, CT, the Oriental Mandarin Hotel in Washington DC and numerous corporations and private residences across the country.
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