Heads Up: Artist Provides Insight in Gallery Talk

The ceramist has returned to the form of the head throughout his career, using it both as physical object and a way to convey a narrative. The heads (and one imposing giant body) in the de Menil Gallery are both sculptures and canvases for exquisitely detailed paintings.

 

In his talk, Isupov explained that he is intrigued by the combination of 2D and 3D in his work, sometimes blurring the lines between sculpting and painting. His favorite part of the de Menil exhibit, he said, was the chance to paint on the gallery wall. In this case, a giant 3D ear protrudes from the face painted on the wall.

Ceramics as a medium provides “a little bit of magic,” Isupov said, because the pieces look so different after they emerge from the kiln. Most of his pieces take him a few weeks to complete, though he may tweak them long after. Isupov said he built one of the heads on display eight years ago, but recently added hair to it.

 “Head On” will be on exhibit in the de Menil Gallery through March 3, 2016.

Gallery talk photographs and reporting by Ibante Smallwood '16