ABOUT MIRIAM ANCIS

I have been sculpting for over 30 years, first using steel as the armature for plaster and encaustic pieces, and today welding steel as the works themselves. Most of my sculpture engages the body metaphorically through size and line. Steel allows me to draw shapes in space, suggesting volume and hinting at what's inside. Linear perspective creates the illusion of movement and casts these sculptures as drawings. By painting the pieces, the metal becomes something softer, like skin on bones. Current work plays with basic shapes that peel apart, stretch and turn, challenging the authority of conventional forms. With seductive wit, this odd geometry adds the subjective to the abstract language of the work. The social and emotional charge of gender, religion and politics inform my work. Without being overtly political, my sculptures meet the viewer in a manner that is open and friendly but also preposterous, unsettled, caught mid-step.