Hi there! My name is Chris DeKnikker and I'd like to take a moment to tell you about my sculpture "Reunion". I started this piece before the pandemic and worked on it continously throughout these unprecedented and tumultuous times. Creating this sculpture provided a steady constant in my life when I needed it most. And while I'm ecstatic to see it complete, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little lost without it pulling me back in to the studio into its universe.
Unlike many of my previous works, "Reunion" started with a very loose outline of how to progress through its construction. This was both exhilarating and terrifying, especially when considering the enormity of the project (I should mention this is over twice the size of anything I have ever made). I learned very early that I needed to develop a set of rules and guidelines to organize and inform its creation. This turned out to be very fruitful as it pulled me off the brink of feeling entirely overwhelmed on many occasions. It also allowed me to maximize the relationships with the foreground, middle, and background, while pushing the atmospheric perspective with the different species of wood. For example, the large peach in the foreground only connects to other peach with the very dark and rich walnut. Connections from peach to maple are only made with the heart and lighter sapwood of cherry. Maple connects with maple with the same cherry wood, but also links together with the almost white holly. I'm really happy with the results! I'd love to hear what you think.
Thanks for checking out my piece!