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

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