The basis of all fiber work, in which I received my formal training, is the line. Textile constructions were invented to control that line: to put it in a specific place and to secure it there. My investigations since the mid 1970's with metal grids, with aluminum and steel since the1980's, are efforts to increase the expressive qualities of various linear elements within a textile construction. The inherent qualities of metal contribute significantly to these efforts.

My Nets are built from individual loops of aluminum, steel, brass or copper in slat or wire form. The results are both an activated surface and a dimensional construction. The spaces between the parts are integral parts of the piece. The Dancer Series grew out of my long use of stitching strips of aluminum through hardware cloth, a welded wire grid. In these hanging sculptures, long strips of the stitched grid work twist around one another to create vertical forms or energetic movement. The Wire Drawings reveal what has often been obscured in my work. For years I have plied steel wire to make armatures for my sculptures. In this new series, the small forms can hang singly or in concert with others. They move back and forth between being a flat drawing and a fully realized three-dimensional form, while being neither.

To see more of John Garrett's work contact us