Balance Points – Kinetic Sculpture & Mobiles by Karolina Maszkiewicz

The interesting clash between materials is something so few creatives really talk about. If we think about architecture you also have to discuss the balance that materials bring to a space. There’s so many properties to each material, such as texture, tone, so it would make sense that harmonious, natural materials and colours would bring a sense of serenity and freedom to a space. An essence of the values associated with nature itself.

Artists have been implementing this in to their work for a long time now. Alexander Calder was a particular artist who was often lumped in with the ‘new modern artists’, when really he was a maker and engineer at heart who liked to toy away for hours in his studio. On face value his sculpture wasn’t necessarily associated with the elements of nature, but most of his kinetic sculpture and mobiles suggested the cosmos or an elements found outside. For example ‘Two Moons’ in 1969 or ‘Snow Flurry’ produced in 1950.

It was nice to come across the work of Karolina Maszkiewicz, a creative born in Poland who now lives and works in Los Angeles. The particular series I stumbled across first was the ‘Woolsey Fire Series’ created late last year named after the Woolsey Fire that burned almost 97,000 acres of land in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Maszkiewicz explored the burned areas and gathered pieces of charred wood and began incorporating them into this ongoing series of kinetic sculptures.

Working from her family’s furniture shop, she has used various veneers to suspend the wood in its fire-ravaged state, hoping to investigate balance points, gravity and the way a viewer’s presence influences the movement of the works.

These newer works go wonderfully with her mobiles that hang from the ceiling. Not only do you have the beautiful, veneered wood with the grain showing through in all its glory, you have the colours that pop just enough and the flowing shapes that could represent a wing of a bird or an arching leaf. Simplicity at its best, but with an experimental twist.

I urge you to watch the video below that showcases more behind Karolina’s artwork. You should also head on over to her portfolio where a more pieces can be seen. Enjoy!

karolinamaszkiewicz.com

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