An avid collector as long as he has been making art, Scott Mossman's sculpture has always been colored by a longtime fascination with "the object." Most intriguing to Mossman is a works relationship to the wall where it's placed, the viewer and the gallery space. His sculptures hung curiously high, often times with a dramatic cast shadow, appear to serve a purpose other than art, the function of the oftentimes eccentric, seemingly worn tool, appliance or artifact not being as obvious as the soffit, burglar alarm sensor or boxy precariously mounted heating and air conditioning units that might occupy a similar spot on the wall.
Following up his recent one-person exhibit "Overhead" at the Noyes Cultural Center in Evanston, where his sculptures were hung high and heavily lit, his current exhibit at Heaven Gallery "Cornered" is dominated by recent works, many created for the space, that play off the meeting of two walls, the point where walls end and where the ceiling begins. As with the aforementioned Noyes exhibit, his pieces, oftentimes reflective of his fascination with architectural styles and structures, choose to interact with the idiosyncrasies of Heaven's Victorian vernacular roots.
Biography
An MFA candidate during Post modernism's heyday, sculptor/ painter Scott Mossman soon began exhibiting in spaces throughout Chicago and the rest of the country. Known for habitually giving up the "good space" for the 2d folks, in his first group exhibit at the Hyde Park Art Center "Crisp and Clean" his sculpture "Tower" an homage to the famous Pisa prototype seemed to leap from the gallery's balcony. Soon after in "On Paper", also at the HPAC, twenty ink on paper diptychs were hung from a wooden lattice that filled an entire wall. With his painting "Great Falls" he was one of twenty artists whose work toured Texas for two years in "Primarily Paint" a survey of recent American painting sponsored by the Texas Fine Arts Association. Recently, he has exhibited works (hung of course, precariously high) at the Freeport Art Museum, the Bridgeport Art Center, Christopher Gallery(Prairie State College), the Brauer Art Museum (Valparaiso), Northeastern Illinois University Gallery, the Highland Park Art Center and the Koehnline Museum at Oakton Community College. Last fall his sculpture "Red and Chartreuse" was selected for the "National Small Works 40th Annual Exhibition" at Harper College (Palatine) and was later purchased for their Educational Foundation Art Collection and will be permanently installed on campus, very high of course, via a hydraulic lift.
An Artist Talk is scheduled for March 25 at 1PM
Mossman will present a brief overview of works by artists from the end of the 20th Century he sees as an influence who employed alternative options to the traditional approach to exhibition followed by a Q and A about the installation. Violinist and 3Arts awardee Brandi Berry Benson will perform unaccompanied violin pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries preceding and following Mr. Mossman’s talk.
artduo@msn.com
https://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/395641-scott-mossman---sculpture?tab=PROFILE
Ms. Berry Benson has appeared with numerous ensembles in the U.S. including Newberry Consort, Ars Lyrica, and Bach & Beethoven Experiencehttp://bbexperience.org/ and her "four-string acrobatics" and "indispensable skill" (TimeOut Chicago) have been praised as "alert [and] outstanding" (Chicago Classical Review), has also been noted for her "riffs…powered by a flashing blur of bow arm, [as they] rolled out with irresistible glee" (Washington Post).
Bach + Beethoven Experience - bbexperience.org
A Chicago-based ensemble, dedicated to presenting music in historical context and on period instruments.