Allison Wade

Lives and works in Chicago, IL, USA

Artist statement

As a visual artist working primarily in sculpture, my practice is intuitive, material-based, and formally focused. I create metal, wood, papier-mâché, fabric, and clay components and assemble these into unexpected juxtapositions: a delicate coral tassel hung on a rigid steel frame, scrap wood assembled like a low-relief mountain range on a blue steel table. Viewed from certain angles, these abstract sculptures morph into spatial drawings. The perceptual shift also occurs within compositions as layers collapse on themselves. I continually find myself drawn to this intersection between flatness and form, where a shift in position reveals a sculpture’s complete character. All this work has an underlying relationship to language. Sculptures and sculptural parts stand in for morphemes and words, and I delight in teasing out turns of phrase that obey my intuitive logic. Often conceived in series and installed in conversation, the pieces settle into tightly edited sentences and short stories, where meaning lies in form itself. Recently, I began crafting papier-mâché forms that mimic ceramics or cast metal. These newer works subvert expectations about weight — what is light appears heavy and vice versa. I am excited about the possibilities this move affords, especially in relation to surface.

Artwork