Junk Man, discarded car frame and parts assembled into a figure

Troy Nickle is a sculptor and installation artist who often works with natural materials and features of the landscape to create his works. The artist’s practice is inspired by the natural environment, but also serves as a pertinent reminder to the viewer of the environment’s omnipresence.

Snow Ring, snow packed onto cottonwoods, archival inkjet print

I like the way that Troy shifts between using natural materials in gallery installations, and working directly in the environment. In either realm, his works have a certain delicate, dignified quality about them. The artist doesn’t seek to manipulate the materials, but rather uses his practice as a way to, if only momentarily, place them in a new visual context.

www.troynickle.com

In works like All of Us, Troy uses the land itself as a medium, in the manner of land artists like Andy Goldsworthy. There’s a human edge to Troys’ works, especially in the aforementioned piece, which comprises text implanted directly into soil and snow. Troy addresses the interventions of humanity on the earth, the impacts that they have and their permanence, or inevitable impermanence.

All Of Us, temporary installation on campus lawn at Governor's State University, Illinois