Kristine Poole - EPIC 2015

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Opening Reception April 24th, Friday, 5 – 7pm, Through May 23rd

PUBLICATION BY:

® 550 south guadalupe street santa fe new mexico 87501

505.995.9902 EVOKEcontemporary.com

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RISTINE POOLE unveils her first solo exhibition at EVOKE Contemporary with a selection of life-size figural sculptures in fired clay that represents her journey as an artist while sharing a narrative and often interactive experience with the viewer.

Kristine Poole’s work explores themes centered on sociocultural experience, her sensitive sculptural approach to the figure allowing the inner emotional landscape to be revealed through the external forms of the body. Contrasting classically rendered figures with contemporary motifs and surface treatments, she frequently juxtaposes body language, posture and attitude with text, layering the strength of gesture with the power words have convey, create and define reality and experience.

Poole received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Northern Michigan University, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a concentration in ceramic sculpture. She then apprenticed with master ceramist John Glick. Shortly after her move to Santa Fe, NM in 1994, Kristine’s creative focus shifted to the performing arts. During this time, she concentrated on teaching and developing choreography-opening her own dance studio as well as founding “Body Flight,” a professional dance company. In 2006, she was selected for NM Business Weekly’s “40 under 40” award for her contributions in business and community as well as having been recognized nationally with multiple awards for her teaching skills.

Now she has come full circle, applying her refined knowledge of movement, line, anatomy and human experience to her life sized ceramic figurative work. Her sculptures have been shown across the country and have been juried into various international publications, including Lark Books’ “500 Figures in Clay,” “The 2013/2014 International ARC Salon Catalogue,” and “Spectrum 21: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art,” for which she was also awarded the “Silver Medal” in the Dimensional Category. She currently lives in Santa Fe, NM with her husband Colin, a painter and sculptor with whom she frequently collaborates on sculptural series.

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Telling Tales

life-sized, 30” x 14” x 32”, fired clay “Telling Tales” begins with stories from my path in being an artist and branches off with more poetic sections regarding other aspects of my life that have fed that pursuit, including falling in love. It has to do with how the stories of our lives ‘wrap around us,’ in a way giving form to how we appear to others. The words start from the forefinger and spiral up and around her body branching off much as my path in life took many different turns.

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Wordcage

life-sized, 40”x 18”x 23”, fired clay “Wordcage” contains words, poems and stories people have written or said about me, demonstrating in physical form the way words can constrain or confine. The ribbons of text also contain what I call “sticky words” which are casual, off-the-cuff comments people say that somehow stick in our minds, resurfacing in moments when we are feeling fragile.

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They Said Abigael Was a Witch life-sized, 30” x 35” x 23”, fired clay

I went to Finland with my family for a reunion with our distant relatives. Our Finnish guide, whose English was a bit sketchy, kept referring to one of our ancestors - a Sami woman - saying, “Abigael was a witch,” a fact I found very intriguing. My relatives, however, who are very religious, were far from entertained by that idea. At one point I asked him, “In English, when you say the word, ‘witch’ it means something very specific - a person who follows a particular set of beliefs. Do you mean that, or do you mean that Abigael was a shaman - a person who gathers plants and herbs to help heal others?” And he said, “Yes! That is what I mean!” The interaction made me think about the way our descriptions or labels for someone can have immediate and dramatic impact on how others see them. She is textured with the story of Abigael and other stories or poems people have written about me.

The curled pattern of the words represent how the things people say, both positive and otherwise, weave around us often becoming part of our personal mythology.

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Inner Tête-à-Tête

life-sized, 26” x 39” x 34”, fired clay “Inner Tête-à-Tête” is textured with words, quotes and stories I have carried with me through my life that speak to me, motivate me and have influenced the way I think and see. From Hokusai to the wisdom of young children’s points of view, these are some of the words that have inspired me. This inner conversation continues to evolve and is shown emerging into clarity on the figure.

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Raconteuse

life-sized 35” x 24” x 30”, fired clay “Raconteuse,” a teller of stories, is a chronology of anecdotes from my life that in some way have defined how I see myself or are significant to my experience of identity. She symbolizes continually seeking, then finding one’s path in life. The words form a continuous pattern and texture over her surface in the same way that the stories we frequently tell about our lives form a pattern of how we see ourselves and wish others to see us.

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Birth of a Woman

life-sized, 32 x 26 x 35, fired clay

The text on “Birth of a Woman” begins with quotations from historical and contemporary leaders and figureheads as well as religious texts which define, regulate or confine women’s roles Midway up the figure, the words begin to fade and split off, representing a time in life where through experience, we choose our own way. One direction comes into focus again with words of a similar nature, spiraling back down the figure. The other path, wrapping up and around the sculpture, clarifies into quotations and song lyrics which empower, encourage and enliven - words which have inspired me to keep to my path even when the way became dark and difficult. This split symbolizes the fact that at any time, we always have the opportunity to choose to stay as we are or to take a chance and make that change.

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Call of The Muse

life-sized, 26 x 39 x 34, fired clay The text on “Call of The Muse” begins with the first line of the Beatles’ song, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” - “picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies.” I was inspired by the idea of ‘a girl with kaleidoscope eyes’ - how we might metaphorically look into the eyes of our inner muse and be enticed into taking a journey with her. The text continues into an excerpt from “Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll wherein Alice and the knitting sheep are drifting down a river. All manner of surreal things happen to them and they ultimately end up back in the little shop where their adventure began. This section of the book partly inspired the song, but also represents how miraculous and unbelievable things can occur when we embark on a creative journey. The word pattern flows leisurely around the figure as the path of a river, akin to the many twists and turns in life.

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Mnemosyne: Goddess of Memory life-sized, 57 x 22 x 15, fired clay

In Greek mythology, Mnemosyne was the personification of memory and the mother of all the Muses. In this piece, she represents the storyteller - a collector of anecdotes from our lives. “Mnemosyne� is an interactive piece wherein viewers have the opportunity to include their own words - defining moments from their lives, choices they’ve made, instances of serendipity, stories that have defined their identity or who they are. As viewers add their tales throughout the duration of the show, the surface of the sculpture will shift and change based on their collective writings.

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KRISTINE POOLE E

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