Shane Wiggs, Artist Statement 2023
Decay is a primary concern in my work. I find beauty and pathos in the aging works of man… specifically in aging agricultural/industrial architecture and facilities. Makeshift functional architecture possesses an imposing, almost brutal presence in its prime. Neglected, these sites point to temporal problems inherited by subsequent generations. They also recall specifically American problems; the export of jobs to other countries, economic drought, declining work ethic… broken dreams. Echoes of the lives of those who built and depended on these once thriving complexes drift through the air. They are haunting monuments to mortality. I’m drawn to these rusted, sagging structures as an analogue for the fallen state of man, his hopes, and the suffering inherent in life. Even as ruins these buildings have a soul. Still, I cannot fully explain or understand why abandoned industrial structures strike me as profoundly beautiful. There is a Japanese concept that approximates my feelings and ideas relative to these sites. Mono No Aware or the ‘pathos of things’ (more literally ‘the ahhhness of things’) recognizes the fragility and fleeting nature of beauty… a realization that tempts us toward a morbid, melancholic response. Properly understood though, Mono No Aware should undergird these experiences via an increased presence in the moment and a heightened experience of beauty. This awareness transports us from merely appreciative into the sublime. Beauty then serves as a landmark in our lives. Cues from art history include (but are not limited to) Precisionism and Magic Realism via Charles Scheeler and George Tooker respectively. The work of Anselm Kiefer as well as the photographic work of Hilla and Bernd Becher inform the pieces as well. Finally, a note on process. I seek a balance of refined skill and visceral spontaneity in my work. The pieces should be able to command your attention at 50 paces but reward intimate viewing with detail and craftsmanship. I wish the viewer to be aware of the investment of effort as well as a love for process and materials in everything I make.
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Shane Wiggs is an artist who lives and works in El Paso. Father to three, he is a Christian, husband, art history enthusiast and high school art teacher. His mediums include large-scale paintings and drawings as well as printmaking and digital art. Schools attended include UTEP, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Western Technical Institute for a welding certification. He earned his BFA from NMSU and Masters in Studio Art from Sul Ross State University. His work is in the permanent collection of the El Paso Museum of Art and the City of El Paso’s MCAD collection. Although recent exhibitions are concentrated in West Texas and Southern NM, his work has been shown nationally and internationally.
Instagram handle @rswiggs1 Sul Ross State University Art Gallery presents Re: Return, Reckoning, Redemption, the Master’s exhibition for Shane Wiggs - an artist and art teacher working out of El Paso Texas.
Featuring paintings, prints and mixed media drawings, this exhibit covers a wide range of artistic concerns, approaches, and subject matter. From obsessive conceptual line paintings to gritty, large-scale portrayals of industrial architecture, Wiggs’ rigorous approach to artmaking balances aggressive mark-making with refined technique, challenging the viewer to engage the work. Viewed from afar, it immediately seizes the viewer while close inspection rewards one with meticulous detail. From the artist: “This apparently disparate body of work unites under the schema of process. It is only through work, creation, and exploring our fascination that we are able to mine depths of meaning. It’s in the deep recesses of the mind and spirit that we meet the person God intended us to be.” For more information contact the artist by email or phone: artcrunch@mail.com or 915 217 4173. You can also check out the artist’s Instagram @rswiggs1. Re: Return, Reckoning, Redemption runs from January 23rd to February 3rd, 2023 with an opening reception on Thursday, January 26th from 5 to 7 PM. |
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