Raymond W. Gonzalez Berea, KY
Click Earthenware, glaze, grommets, googly eyes. Cast. 10" x 10" x 10" $1,200
The exploration of the overlap and interrelation between child play, desire, adult play, and sensuality informs the basis of my art. Many of our toys were handed down from generation to generation, including Lincoln Logs, Lego's, and wooden blocks. I capture the appeal of those toys that endured time and technology. In some way, my art is a conceptualization of my lifelong pursuit of play. At the same time references to adult play inform my work through color, texture, and material. Therefore, the audience is able to enjoy the work for its quality of design, stimulating surfaces, suggested interactivity, and references to sensuality. This work confronts ideas of beauty in the surfaces and ornamentation of the toys. Alternative materials including flocking, automotive urethane, rhinestones, and monofilament serve to accentuate the forms and flaunt their tactile nature. The most recent series, Fetishes, references both the historical of a ritualistic object as well as the contemporary interpretation of an object of intense sensual desire. The aesthetic value of these pieces transcends its value as a plaything. The unification of these series lays in the formal and conceptual pursuit to evoke memories of play.