donald kolberg
valdosta , Georgia-
United States
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Other/Misc.
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Artist Blogs
VALDOSTA TIMES REVIEW
2008-07-06
Art gets wired
By Dean Poling
June 22, 2008 10:02 pm
— VALDOSTA — On a dais, in the middle of a gallery, a viewer can appreciate the wire art of Donald Kolberg.
It is apparent that he has manipulated the thin wire into the human form. Torso, hips, the curves and grooves of muscle, sinew and flesh shaped into what was once a flat piece of wire mesh. They are sculpture but, instead of marble, Kolberg’s medium is wire. Of course, with mesh, Kolberg deals with either the frontal view or a posterior view of the human form.
His deft handling of the materials can be appreciated, but it can’t be fully appreciated until the work is exhibited in a fashion where lighting causes shadows to form on walls behind the sculpture. The play of light on the porous wire makes the shadows appear to be pencil drawings etched behind the sculpture. It is a dynamic effect.
“I actually found wire art by accident more than five years ago,” Kolberg says in an artistic statement. “I was working in my studio, or more accurately, waiting for the muse, when I found myself doodling with a piece of picture wire. I was fascinated with the way it lent itself to the kind of gesture painting of human form I was exploring. I quickly jumped to aluminum and steel screening to create more forms.”
Kolberg works with models and bends the wire sheet by hand to capture the model’s pose.
“My technique developed into hand working the forms into human landscapes that reflect the intricacies of muscle and attitude,” Kolberg notes. “From here, they are manipulated in light and shadow. This creates the completed sculpture that exists in the physical world of the surface and delineation of form with the shadow that reflects the sculpture and interacts with the form creating a combined new sculpture.”
• GALLERY
Artist Donald Kolberg’s art is on exhibit in Josette’s Gallery, along with the ‘Best of Spring Into Art,’ Sallie and
Harmon Boyette Gallery; artist Al Razza’s
paintings,
Price-Campbell
Foundation Gallery; works by youngsters at Moody Air Force Base, Roberta George
Children’s Gallery.
Where: The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts, 527 N.
Patterson St.
Run dates: Shows run through Aug. 6.
Gallery hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays; closed
Sundays and Mondays.
Admission: Free.
More information: Call 247-2787.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Photos
Art by Donald Kolberg.
Art by Donald Kolberg.
Art by Donald Kolberg.
WALB TV Review
2008-07-06
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10 Country: Donald's Screen Wire Art
Posted: June 24, 2008 12:09 PM June 24, 2008 12:09 PM
Updated: June 24, 2008 12:10 PM June 24, 2008 12:10 PM
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Valdosta - Many home garages start as a place to park cars and trucks only to find the space has a better use. Donald Kolberg found his garage, with an American flag proudly displayed on one end with a sunshade behind it, makes a great art studio.
"It was six years ago and I got frustrated with a painting when I noticed a piece of screen wire on the ground. I had repaired a door and a piece was left. I picked it up and started doodling with it," says Donald.
Doodling became more doodling, bending it here and there.
"I liked the way it started to move,' says Donald. Not many people think of screen wire as moving.
Soon he had three pieces of sculpture and a new creative challenge.
"It was a surprise discovering screen," says Donald about the artistic find literally at his feet.
The screen's pliability allowed Donald artistic license that no other medium provided.
"I'm taking a flat surface and I'm re-creating shape using a flat surface," says Donald.
Sounds impossible.
"When you see it, you can see form, a solid form, but you can also see the surface of it," says Donald.
The more Donald worked with screen wire, the more the liked it.
"I work into the piece itself and become part of the piece as I'm working with it," says Donald.
The more he worked with the screen wire the more he realized that it seemed to have a life of its own. It bent easily in some directions; refused to bend in others.
"Every once in a while it changes directions on me," says Donald as he points to a rough area on a piece of course wire mesh often used in building construction.
He works on several screen wire sculptures at a time, picking up one and making adjustments and then on to another. Occasionally he holds one up to the bright sunlight to inspect the work and look at its shadow on the ground. Then, he sees adjustments needed in other works-in-progress and makes them. Slowly and surely the alterations bring the sculptures to life.
"You don't know when it's all going to come together," says Donald, but it always comes.
Donald's interest quickly spread to other types of screen wire. He experiments with a type used to re-enforce concrete, plus other sizes and weaves. Some have a close weave that he cuts with scissors, while the more course weave requires special heavy-duty shears.
"The hard part is cutting away all of this (excess screen)," says Donald.
Heavy gloves protect his hands.
"I love doing this. It's so much fun," says Donald.
He found exhibiting his work fun, and in particular explaining each piece to anyone who inquires. His happiness fills the gallery.
One creation looks like a human torso from a distance, complete with a flesh color. Paint emphasizes the form.
His favorite creation of the 32 exhibited includes screen wire that he painted a pleasant blue color.
"It's like the sky. There's wind and air in it. The blue just seemed to come alive in it," says Donald.
Each sculpture looks three-dimensional, and a spotlighted adds another interesting aspect.
"The tension between light and dark; the push and pull," says Donald.
The shadow does more. It completes the sculpture and that's why he often puts a creation in the sun to see its shadow as he develops it.
"You can see some of the similarities, the differences, the growth, the mistakes," says Donald as he walks through his sculpture exhibit, obviously proud of the new art medium found at his feet six years ago.
Donald Kolberg's exhibit titled "Life Forms" closes August 6 at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts, 527 North Patterson St in Valdosta. Phone: 229-247-ARTS (2787).
His website: www.donaldkolberg.com includes pictures of many of his creations.
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