“Garden Gipsoteca: Hercules” (2019), marble, resin, pigment, urethane foam, steel, abd wood, 84 x 36 x 24 inches. All images © Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford, shared with permission
Artist reenvisions classical sculptures as chaotic, glitched assemblages that piece together fragmented bits of the original work. His interpretation of “Hercules” is teeming with textured pockets of the figure’s beard and facial features that become increasingly smaller and indiscernible toward the base, while “Venus” is reimagined in a similarly disjointed fashion with fractured body parts forming an upward curve.
Although many of his works evoke ancient art history, Hulsebos-Spofford’s pieces are rooted in modernist aesthetics and understandings of functionality, which manifest more apparently in his oversized Moka pot and Mr. Coffee sculptures. Each piece alters the traditional forms with an implied digital malfunction, which about the works explains:
Inspired by the history of the 1927 architectural competition in Geneva, which asked architects to submit plans for the creation of the Palace of Nations, Hulsebos-Spofford points to the unsettled quandaries and contradictions between classical design and modernist functionalism. Repeating classical sculptural figures remind us of copy-and-paste multiple errors that reference the history of the gipsoteca galleries…Behind all of these references, we are presented with a global constellation of history and technological decay.
If you’re in Chicago, you can see the works shown here as part of League of Nations, which is on view between June 2 and August 29 at the . Find more of Hulsebos-Spofford’s sculptures on and , where he also shares glimpses into his process.
“Hyperlexia: Venus” (2021), marble, resin, foam, and fiberglass, 40 x 30 x 24 inches
“Mr. Coffee” (2019), sand blasting sand, resin, urethane foam, steel, hardware, and wood, 68 x 48 x 24 inches
Detail of “Garden Gipsoteca: Hercules” (2019), marble, resin, pigment, urethane foam, steel, abd wood, 84 x 36 x 24 inches
“Hyperlexia: Moka” (2020), aluminum, resin, foam, and fiberglass, 41 x 40 x 14 inches
“Hyperlexia: Solicitude” (2021), foam, pigment, and wood, 48 x 36 x 36 inches