ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a multi-media sculptor, drawing inspiration from the body, sensuality, and awareness. My process is based in metal casting and fabrication, as I am drawn to the compelling and complex history inherent in these practices. From this more traditional groundwork, I incorporate elements such as rubber, fabric, and hair, in order to create abstracted, sensual forms which bring awareness to nuances of body and space. The combination of these diverse materials creates a dynamic conversation within each sculpture—the soft elevates the hard, the warm amplifies the cold, the familiar highlights the strange.
Driven by an exploration of femininity and its related myths, phobias, and taboos, my work stands to challenge the viewer by walking the line between attraction and repulsion. Its visceral materiality mimics the body in a way that is simultaneously fascinating, off-putting, and obscure, asking the viewer to look
inward in order to reconcile with the experience.
Along with the choice of form and material, my own body’s involvement in the creation of each piece serves to further implicate the figure. Through the intimate tedium of creation, along with active bodily involvement in the form of life-cast elements, touch-patination, and the incorporation of my own hair, clothes, etc., my presence becomes deeply tied to the work. This further serves the connective
network I aim to achieve, as each sculpture becomes an intermediary between myself and my audience, confronting the question of presence versus absence. Thus, these quiet yet dynamic forms become metaphorical, contemplative spaces, inviting the viewer to engage in their narratives of fear, vulnerability and strength while providing a lens through which to analyze one’s self and surroundings.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ringo Lisko received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in sculpture and drawing from the University of Alabama in 2020. She currently works as a foundry specialist for the University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History, creating public sculpture commissions for artists and entities across the state of Alabama. Additionally, she has created several of her own public sculptures, which can be seen on the UA campus, in Tuscaloosa’s Monnish Park, and in downtown Tuscaloosa and Monroeville, AL. Along with her work within the public art scene, Ringo maintains her own personal practice, creating work that explores femininity, sensuality and psychology. She recently completed “Vessels of Paranoia,” a solo exhibition at Harrison Galleries in Tuscaloosa, and was an exhibiting artist in DragonFLY Gallery’s Second Annual I AM WOMEN exhibition in Chicago, IL. Ringo will be pursuing her Masters of Fine Arts degree at the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Rinehart School of Sculpture beginning in fall 2022.
© Ringo Lisko