For the next month, the Landau Gallery will be featuring a variety of drawings and sculptures created by Deborah Dendler, a local artist. Some of her most fascinating works are her relief sculptures. Relief sculpting is the process in which the artist carves out sculpted parts while still leaving the sculpture attached to a background from which it has been carved. Her works are very complex and typically shallow, which makes the process of drawing and sculpting significantly more difficult. As a sculptor, her drawings are produced differently than those of a drawer. The artist says that, while a drawer is concerned foreshortening and perspective, a sculptor like herself uses paintings as blueprints for a sculpture. She goes on to say that she believes a good drawing for her is anything she can turn into a good sculpture. Most of her drawings are done in red and white chalk on tinted paper. Her many drawings in the gallery are all very intricate and focus mainly on people, from babies to adults. She writes in her artist statement, “The human condition is the main subject of my work. I believe in the resilience of the human spirit and find the human form the most perfect and eloquent expression of the human spirit.”
Dendler’s very unique and a graceful work will be on display until January 11, 2017, so take a walk through the gallery and see Dendler’s work for yourself.
