PETER BROOKS artist's statement
As a steel sculptor, I work almost exclusively with found objects. My materials are the detritus of everyday America: rotted fenders, doubled-over oil drums, cracked water tanks, and anonymous pieces of plate steel severed from obsolete machines. These relics, left and forgotten on the periphery of our world, chronicle human experience and plainly communicate the inevitability of aging. They have a gritty and unconventional aesthetic in which time and the elements create a complex and surprising array of color, texture, and form. Paradoxically, the deterioration lends a freshness to my art in that it reflects the perfection of natural processes.
My sculptures are abstract explorations of the pure physicality of the manufactured object. They expose the origins of steel as iron, earthy and elemental, and inspire a sense of time and history. My art is in fact an archaeological excavation illustrating the silent and unstoppable passage of time. Confronted with the fact that even the hardest materials erode in the vast scope of time, we arrive from the deep recesses of the mind and body to an understanding of the ephemeral nature of human life and our role in the moment.
One style of my work is the traditional wall hanging. These compositions do not sit idly, but thrust out into the gallery space as unavoidable, uncompromising, tactile objects. They demand that the viewer move to different vantage points and observe the play of light. They hover in a moment of uncertain motion in which their obvious weight is threatening. However a quiet, contemplative presence invites the viewer to discover the intricacies of color and texture. The rust is visually complex in and of itself, yet I selectively arrange sculptural elements to accentuate subtleties of the forms. I often present rust next to polished steel, creating a piece that transcends linear time, existing simultaneously in the past and present.
Another style of my art is explicitly figural. These compositions are free-standing and usually present two distinct sculptural elements. They are abstract portraits that focus on how posture communicates relationships and attitudes. They are snapshots of simple, spontaneous human interactions from a soft embrace to a mortal blow. The lines of each work are spare so as to capture archetypal gestures and unearth timeless expressions. The figures themselves and the negative space they share give the compositions a charged emotional energy that provokes a sense of motion for the viewer.