metaphorical references to navigation
My current body of work combines metaphorical references to navigation with mixed media sculptural forms. Each sculpture is conceived with an adherence to the formalist perspective of objects, and my intention is to convey balance, tension, and control. The individual works are oriented to aid viewer as they navigate the gallery space.
My visual library, language, and material knowledge come from my history with restoration and preservation, particularly of houses and furniture. By using singular objects and their imagery in repetition, I break down objects into what I understand to be their purest representational forms. I compose my sculptures by arranging, stacking, and piling—trusting the instincts of building. In many cases, I let the objects dictate their own forms. I derive pleasure from this act of construction and enjoy how this process provides multiple layers of meaning through the use of color, surface, pattern, and form.
Kyle Bauer moved to Baltimore after earning his MFA from Louisiana State University in 2011. Since 2012, he has been the conservation technician of prints, drawings, and photographs at the Baltimore Museum of Art. He recently completed a three-year residency at Baltimore Clayworks and is a 2014 Sondheim Artscape Prize finalist, a 2015 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Grant Award recipient, and a finalist for the 2015 Miami University Young Sculptors Competition for the William and Dorothy Yeck Award for which he was awarded third place by juror Ann Barlow, executive director of art in General NYC. He has had recent exhibitions at the Walters Art Museum, Vox Populi, Flashpoint Gallery, Randall Scott Projects, McDaniel College, Arlington Art Center, School 33 Art Center, and Maryland Art Place. Since 2011, Bauer’s mixed-media sculptures and installations have been featured in more than 30 exhibitions in the Mid-Atlantic region and internationally at Galway, Ireland, at The Shed. He was also invited to present at MAP Gallery’s THIRTY speaker series, a program that brings attention to 30 emerging Baltimore artists under the age of 30.