Gerald Giamportone: sculptural work 1997 - 2004

• Main Author: Foster, Stephen
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: Arctic; Table Top
• Online Access: https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/355938/

The John Hansard Gallery is delighted to be showing the work of Gerald Giamportone, an artist living and working in Los Angeles, whose work has not previously been shown in Britain. Gerald Giamportone’s work addresses important issues relating to contemporary sculptural practice. Whilst still reflecting the central issues of formalism, the works in this exhibition extend those ideas by looking at opposing concepts such as fragility and strength, temporality and timelessness. They bring together seemingly unconnected materials from both the natural world and industry; combining neoprene, talc, formica and polycarbonate sheeting, with naturally occurring elements such as wood, cork, rose petals, thorns or leaves. The works are presented in a number of ways, ranging from floor pieces to table top works to wall based photographic prints. All share the common quality of being beautifully hand crafted and despite their pristine, almost clinical, appearance are very much products of a painstaking hand made process. The collection and extraction of natural materials displayed within the formal methods of sculptural display, present striking images, often resembling topography, arctic landscapes or phials as if part of a scientific experiment. The organic materials used eventually disintegrating to a dry dust