The Shallow Act of Seeing considers the work of three artists who make objects that reward the process of looking rather than simply seeing.
Dan Gunn uses lacquered plywood to create works that appear to be draped fabric. He makes things that are both images and objects, which from a distance fool the viewer into thinking they are soft and flexible fabric.
Bayne Peterson uses the concentric circles and ovals of turned wood, pieced together in unusual color combinations. With complex curves and seemingly impossible angles, his sculptures challenge ideas about the material qualities of wood.
Rachel Beach’s totemic constructions daringly balance large, solid forms atop each other in defiance of wood’s presumed structural capabilities.
Image: Dan Gunn, Grand Amusement, 2014; dye and UV absorbent lacquer on plywood with nylon cord and wire; 85 x 60 in. Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago.
