Damon Hyldreth

Genre: Sculptor

My approach is instinctive, like nature itself. My process in sculpture is a process of discovery through making, a form of travel. I have a conversation with my materials, consider their potential energy, and lure out of them the dynamic forces of nature. I allow the work to evolve, probing shapes, investigating its capacity to change. I seek to reveal the nature of the material, allowing it to take on a life of its own.

My work stands as a reminder of the connection between man and nature as the world around us becomes increasingly removed from this essential and most basic union. While the metals I use are clearly man-made, the result of my collaboration with them is a blurring of the divide between nature and human structure, space and form.

Art originally served magical and religious purposes but in modern times, has moved towards decoration. My goal as an artist is to combine both, to create art that reflects the visible as well as the hidden, to embody in my work a sense of presence, a sense of inner life.

My sculpture embodies the tension between stasis and impending movement; despite its weight and volume, or perhaps because of it, metal can dance and even suggest song. Ideally a viewer engages with my work on a subliminal level enabling them to have an experience of a uniquely personal nature. I work with stainless steel, bronze, cor-ten steel, and carbon steel. These diverse metals, with their varied looks, suggest forms individualistically.

–Damon Hyldreth