1. Centerpieces for Matriarchs (2019) – slip-cast glazed porcelain, kohler carillon wading pool vessel sinks; 16 x 9 in.
2. Family Portraits (2019) – slip-cast glazed porcelain; 8 x 10 x 3 in.
3. EasyChair/Failed Odalisque (2017) – reconstructed chaise lounge fiberfill, pantyhose, spandex
4. Sunday Dinners (extrovert) (2019) – vitreous china kohler carillon wading pool sink, slip-cast porcelain.; 16 x 36 in.
5. Rutile (2019) – pantyhose, fiberfill, spandex, repurposed tapestry from a dear friend, on stretched canvas; 24 x 18 in.
6. Lovesuite (2019) – vitreous china kohler carillon wading pool sink, slip-cast porcelain.; 16 x 36 in.
7. Seeking Arrangement with Garfield Orchid Wallpaper (2016) – found, thrifted oak table, fiber, hair; 50 x 27 x 23 in.; wallpaper created from artist’s photograph shot at Garfield Park Conservatory; 108 x 72 in.
Bobbi Meier
Producing work that is sensuous, slightly frightening, and grotesquely humorous has become a means to engage discomfort and anger with situations that cannot be changed. Life’s frustrations and the human condition are embedded into my abstract sculptures, drawings, and installations. Curious about the psychological impulse to see bodily shapes in non-objective forms, and how these objects can elicit a range of conflicting observations, emotions, and memories, I handle materials through delicate and aggressive manipulation.
Tying, binding and stitching are both cathartic and agitated actions important in my production process to transform and arouse emotional response. Bits of lace, appliqué flowers, beaded fringe, medical tubing, porcelain, furniture — materials domestic in nature, intermingle with sexually loaded materials of spandex and stuffed pantyhose. Additive and reductive layering in sculptures and collages reveal and disguise personal histories of loss, pain, joy and disco dancing, offering evidence of time passing.
© Bobbi Meier