James CARL
James Carl is known for his playful use of unconventional materials, such as cardboard, venetian blinds and polymer clay. His work’s material choices are rooted in a conceptual framework which ranges from evocative and ironic critiques of globalisation and consumerism, to celebrations of 20th century modern sculpture. Carefully crafted, his works appear at once foreign and familiar, the common objects of daily life reconfigured and reconsidered.
Carl’s most recent drawings of spoons, Pom bottles and a few other iconic silhouettes are rendered in silver leaf, each gradually developing a patina over time. Starting with a digital tracing, he flips, reflects, duplicates and scales the objects, pushing the image towards abstraction, and forcing the viewer to re-assemble their perceptions of the original object. This notion of assembly is the essence of Carl’s work – he asks us not only to understand how the world is put together but asks us to participate in that construction.
I began "drawing" with silver leaf in 2018. Applying metal leaf requires first of all the application of adhesive sizing, which I do with a fine brush. This, along with the subsequent application of the leaf, creates a sort of unpredictable degradation of the original computer drawings, softening lines, adding uncertainty, while maintaining much of the graphic clarity that I value. The whole process – the slowing down, the placement of fluttering silver tissue, the holding of the breath – turned out to be just what I'd been looking for, both in the process and in the results.
– James Carl
James Carl is known for his playful use of unconventional materials, such as cardboard, venetian blinds and polymer clay. His work’s material choices are rooted in a conceptual framework which ranges from evocative and ironic critiques of globalisation and consumerism, to celebrations of 20th century modern sculpture. Carefully crafted, his works appear at once foreign and familiar, the common objects of daily life reconfigured and reconsidered.
Carl’s most recent drawings of spoons, Pom bottles and a few other iconic silhouettes are rendered in silver leaf, each gradually developing a patina over time. Starting with a digital tracing, he flips, reflects, duplicates and scales the objects, pushing the image towards abstraction, and forcing the viewer to re-assemble their perceptions of the original object. This notion of assembly is the essence of Carl’s work – he asks us not only to understand how the world is put together but asks us to participate in that construction.
I began "drawing" with silver leaf in 2018. Applying metal leaf requires first of all the application of adhesive sizing, which I do with a fine brush. This, along with the subsequent application of the leaf, creates a sort of unpredictable degradation of the original computer drawings, softening lines, adding uncertainty, while maintaining much of the graphic clarity that I value. The whole process – the slowing down, the placement of fluttering silver tissue, the holding of the breath – turned out to be just what I'd been looking for, both in the process and in the results.
– James Carl
James Carl is known for his playful use of unconventional materials, such as cardboard, venetian blinds and polymer clay. His work’s material choices are rooted in a conceptual framework which ranges from evocative and ironic critiques of globalisation and consumerism, to celebrations of 20th century modern sculpture. Carefully crafted, his works appear at once foreign and familiar, the common objects of daily life reconfigured and reconsidered.
Carl’s most recent drawings of spoons, Pom bottles and a few other iconic silhouettes are rendered in silver leaf, each gradually developing a patina over time. Starting with a digital tracing, he flips, reflects, duplicates and scales the objects, pushing the image towards abstraction, and forcing the viewer to re-assemble their perceptions of the original object. This notion of assembly is the essence of Carl’s work – he asks us not only to understand how the world is put together but asks us to participate in that construction.
I began "drawing" with silver leaf in 2018. Applying metal leaf requires first of all the application of adhesive sizing, which I do with a fine brush. This, along with the subsequent application of the leaf, creates a sort of unpredictable degradation of the original computer drawings, softening lines, adding uncertainty, while maintaining much of the graphic clarity that I value. The whole process – the slowing down, the placement of fluttering silver tissue, the holding of the breath – turned out to be just what I'd been looking for, both in the process and in the results.
– James Carl
柯乔以其对非传统材料的有趣使用而闻名，如纸板、百叶窗和聚合物粘土。他的作品的材料选择植根于一个概念框架，从对全球化和消费主义的令人回味和讽刺的批评，到对20世纪现代雕塑的颂扬。经过精心制作，他的作品既显得陌生又熟悉，日常生活中常见的对象被重新配置和斟酌。
柯乔最近绘制的勺子、波姆瓶和其他一些标志性的轮廓都是用银叶绘制的，随着时间的推移，每一个都会逐渐形成铜绿。利用数控绘图，他翻转、反射、复制和缩放物体，将图像推向抽象，并迫使观众重新组装他们对原始物体的感知。这种组装的概念是柯乔工作的精髓——他不仅要求我们理解世界是如何组装在一起的，还要求我们参与这种构建。
“2018年，我开始用银叶‘画画’。应用金属叶首先需要应用粘合剂施胶，我用的是细刷。这一点，加上随后的叶子应用，造成了原始计算机绘图的某种不可预测的退化，软化了线条，增加了不确定性，同时保持了我所看重的大部分图形清晰度。整个过程——放慢速度，放置飘动的银组织，屏住呼吸——正是我一直在寻找的，无论是在过程中还是在结果中。”
——柯乔
Exhibitions
James Carl is one of Canada's most respected artists, known for his playful use of unconventional materials, such as cardboard and venetian blinds. His work’s material choices are rooted in a conceptual framework which ranges from evocative and ironic critiques of globalisation and consumerism, to celebrations of 20th century modern sculpture. Impeccably crafted, his works appear at once foreign and familiar, the common objects of daily life reconfigured and reconsidered. His most recent drawings of spoons and POM juice bottles are rendered in silver leaf, each gradually developing a unique patina over time.
Carl has also completed numerous public art commissions including Thing's End, a gigantic blue rubber band made out of powder coated cast aluminum installed outside the TIFF Bell Lightbox in downtown Toronto. In recent years, he has completed several other public commissions across Canada and in China.
James Carl was born in Montreal in 1960. He received his MFA from Rutgers University and has degrees from McGill University, the University of Victoria and the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing. His work is in public and private collections across North America and Europe including the National Gallery of Canada. He is currently a Professor of Studio Art at the University of Guelph and resides in Toronto.
柯乔是加拿大最受尊敬的艺术家之一，因其对纸板和百叶窗等非传统材料的有趣使 用而闻名。他的作品对材料的选择植根于一个概念框架，这个框架既包括对全球化 和消费主义的讽刺性批判，也包括对20世纪现代雕塑的赞美。他的作品工艺精湛， 既陌生又熟悉，是对日常生活中常见物品的重新组合和思考。他最近绘制的勺子和 POM 果汁瓶是用银叶渲染的，每件都随着时间的推移逐渐形成独特的铜锈。
柯乔还完成了许多公共艺术委托作品，其中包括《Thing‘s End》，这是一件铸铝 制成的巨大蓝色橡皮筋，安装在多伦多市中心的 TIFF Bell Lightbox 外。近年来， 他还在加拿大和中国完成了其他几项公共艺术委托。
柯乔1960年出生于蒙特利尔。他获得了罗格斯大学艺术硕士学位，并拥有麦吉尔大 学、维多利亚大学和北京中央美术学院的学位。他的作品被北美和欧洲的公共和私 人收藏，包括加拿大国家美术馆。他目前是圭尔夫大学工作室艺术教授，居住在多 伦多。