Artist Statement – Concrete!
Jonathan Qualben
Sculpture is the art of bringing a moment alive and into focus. It is an idea, a transitory experience, suspended and given permanence. The artist’s concept is actualized in a medium that allows the viewer an opportunity for lingering inspection; to visit, interpret, and identify with the crafter’s perception.
My work involves the study of animate human forms; their expressiveness and grace at the moment where gravity is tenuous. I attempt to capture this suspended moment in concrete. Concrete in its cured state is also a suspension of its uncured fluid and animate nature.
Commonly, concrete is relegated to structurally rigid, geometric forms. In sculptural work, it is traditionally used as a cast, enticed to mimic the properties of the media used to form a mold. Rather than use a mold, I apply fresh, wet concrete to a temporary form which defines the inside, or backside of the finished piece. I work directly
with the concrete in its uncured, plastic state. This approach allows its innate fluid and textural properties to reveal themselves. By crafting the surface quickly with trowel, hand, or brush, the various gravels, sands and cements are allowed to impart their own uniquely individual qualities to the finished work. I add pigments to the
base mix and also work various colorants into the fresh surface. They define and capitalize on the immediacy of the tool marks and the responsiveness of the material, as
well as complimenting the expressiveness of line and overall form.
Concrete has a limited working time. Once the material is mixed, the work must be completed within hours and there is little opportunity to re-work or correct. Therefore, careful study, preparation, a clear vision of the finished work, and a free but practiced hand are required to ensure success.
I love that the mark of a sweeping, transitory hand, executed in a moment, like a watercolorist’s brushstroke, could be fixed in so permanent a record.