John Searles' Artist's Statement #2
Many of my wall sculptures are puzzle pieces. I cut up one piece of patinated metal into many then reassemble them into a more visually stimulating, higher level of order, often large-scale. Some of my sculptures are weavings, but all have some component of an under-over dimensional quality. For my weavings, I take strips of copper of varying widths and weave them into rectangles, circles and triangles then delicately flame them to bring out colors reminiscent of opals, abalone shell and peacock feathers. Alternately, I use a salt/fire technique to develop rich reds, oranges and blacks.
I live and work in a converted 5600 square foot factory on three acres of land near Lake Michigan. The front third of the building is a light-filled gallery run by my wife, Jill Underhill. I does not use outside services, such as foundries. I finished art school more than 25 years ago and have been teaching himself ever since. I develop my own designs and figure out the processes as I proceed. My purpose is to delight the brain and visual centers in a non-cerebral manner as Music for the Eyes.
My secondary purpose is to create work that has not been seen before. In addition to my metal art work, this list includes my bubble photography, flow paintings and dimensional paintings. I felt the call to originality very early in my life and have been resolutely following it ever since.
My wall pieces are installed in numerous corporate and residential spaces throughout the country. I like to do site-specific, custom pieces for designers and architects. The largest I have done to date is 8’ high x 16’ wide x 8” deep.