Text by Jenelle Porter, Philippe Vergne, Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer. Interview by Hamza Walker.
The metamorphoses of substance: the first monograph on Jay Heikes’ alchemical transmutations of matter, from gelatin to horse hair
The first major catalog on Minneapolis-based artist Jay Heikes (born 1975), this book surveys 20 years of an expansive oeuvre that includes sculpture, painting and installation. His heterogeneous practice mixes and reinterprets a kaleidoscopic array of media, activating stories, puns and irony in a cyclical meditation. Heikes’ sculptures look at once like they emerged from the earth and dropped from the sky: branching metal limbs that twist along the floor, wax- and horsehair-wrapped twigs, silver gelatin mounds, scattered orbs of indeterminate composition and slag-coated detritus.
Through his use of unexpected pairings of materials, his artistic approach reveals the precarious relationships that characterize the infinite matter of the universe. The son of a chemist and educator, he is particularly fascinated by the alchemy inherent in the never-ending transformation of one substance into another, revealing the histories and processes sometimes hidden below the surface of our natural and unnatural worlds.
FORMAT: Hbk, 8.75 x 11.75 in. / 160 pgs / 120 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $45.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $63 GBP £40.00 ISBN: 9781941366318 PUBLISHER: Gregory R. Miller & Co. AVAILABLE: 3/16/2021 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: WORLD
Published by Gregory R. Miller & Co.. Text by Jenelle Porter, Philippe Vergne, Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer. Interview by Hamza Walker.
The metamorphoses of substance: the first monograph on Jay Heikes’ alchemical transmutations of matter, from gelatin to horse hair
The first major catalog on Minneapolis-based artist Jay Heikes (born 1975), this book surveys 20 years of an expansive oeuvre that includes sculpture, painting and installation. His heterogeneous practice mixes and reinterprets a kaleidoscopic array of media, activating stories, puns and irony in a cyclical meditation. Heikes’ sculptures look at once like they emerged from the earth and dropped from the sky: branching metal limbs that twist along the floor, wax- and horsehair-wrapped twigs, silver gelatin mounds, scattered orbs of indeterminate composition and slag-coated detritus.
Through his use of unexpected pairings of materials, his artistic approach reveals the precarious relationships that characterize the infinite matter of the universe. The son of a chemist and educator, he is particularly fascinated by the alchemy inherent in the never-ending transformation of one substance into another, revealing the histories and processes sometimes hidden below the surface of our natural and unnatural worlds.
