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dialogue March / April 1998
Robert Stackhouse
Klein Art Works -- 22 November-3 January
by Corey Postiglione
For more than two decades, Robert Stackhouse has remained one of America's more enigmatic sculptors. Even to refer to him as a sculptor is not entirely accurate. Stackhouse creates large wooden structures that are then used as the subject for his beautifully rendered watercolors. These two-dimensional interpretations, with their liquid, atmospheric treatment, extend and intensify the metaphoric qualities of the sculpture. It is interesting to note that sculptor Richard Serra showed works this past year of incredible tonnage that were phenomenologically grounded. In dramatic contrast, Stackhouse has chosen to imbue his work with delicate buoyancy, evoking a sense of the dream image.
In his current exhibition at Klein Art Works, Stackhouse has mounted his watercolor-saturated sheets of paper onto stretched canvas, giving them the look and feel of paintings. As the drawings/paintings become more palpable, the actual site-specific sculpture Blue Ryders, 1997, becomes even more ethereal. The centerpiece of the show, Blue Ryders consists of a pair of 20-feet-long, boat-like structures made simply from construction-grade lath and painted with blue acrylic. Suspended from the ceiling by ropes, it floats mysteriously in the center of the gallery. The two halves of Blue Ryders create a space in the middle, allowing the viewer to walk through the piece and experience an intimate presence, despite the work's large scale.
In the past, Stackhouse has used the constructed works to inspire his two-dimensional imagery in a direct, observational fashion. However, with Approaching the Angel, 1996, we witness the artist drawing more from his imagination. The ominous image of a ship's bow, ghostly painted, towers the full height of a large canvas. Installed directly across the room, On the Deep, 1995, provides an appropriate counterpoint in the overhead view of misty waters parted by the negative shape of an absent ship. These are highly evocative pieces suggesting fantasy and myth.
What is refreshing about Stackhouse's sculpture is its fugitive quality. All of the three-dimensional works are constructed on site. They are intricately designed but never precious. Consequently, many of his pieces over the years have been dismantled or recycled into other works. What remains, and gives further credence to their raison d'etre, are the carefully rendered watercolors. They act as a visual memory cue for the viewer long after the sculpture has disappeared, especially for someone who has witnessed the actual work.
Too often sculpture can simply exist in our world as a literal object, something that never transcends its materiality. Robert Stackhouse has demonstrated over the years--with consistent verve--that sculpture can float into your mind; it can be allegorical and poetic, it can be there and not there at the same time.
Corey Postiglione is an artist and a writer who teaches art history and critical theory at Columbia College in Chicago.
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