Delicate Sculptural Installations by Troy Nickle
Nature as Culture, installation view at Trianon Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
Today’s featured artist, Troy Nickle, is an artist currently located in Lethbridge, Alberta. His work attempts to explore and unravel the connections between natural processes and phenomena. In practice, he utilizes found natural formations as well as the human form.
Suspend II, limber pines, stone and branches
I really enjoy Troy’s delicate sculptural installations. They’re somehow calming, and rather Zen-like to look at. Unlike other artists working with natural materials, his manipulations of plants and stones are the antithesis of destructive, allowing the actual beauty of his subjects to shine through. This is even the case when he moves the materials into the gallery space, despite the heavier level of manipulation.
Troy has also used numerous other materials in his works. I like his Mattress series, here he cut human silhouettes out of abandoned mattresses, the resulting human-shaped upholstery being placed and photographed in a number of outdoor locations. This work is simultaneously eerie and humorous.
