Corwin has long been fascinated by the lineage of symbols. He has expanded on his sculpture practice by interviewing and collaborating with archeologists and art historians, investigating how certain tools and ideas move from practical uses to symbolic objects; such as hand axes and ladders, even human teeth. Corwin casts the works himself, employing open-faced sand molds as his primary method. This process allows him to work the mold by hand, inventing the negative space of the object rather than making an object first. This allows him to spontaneously imprint hand gestures as well as improvised textures directly onto the metal itself.
Corwin’s most recent series of sculptures focus on the goddess Artemis. An equivocal deity, Artemis represents both the creative and destructive capabilities of nature. Drawing on the famous Hellenic depiction of Artemis in her shrine at Ephesus, Corwin interprets the ancient sculpture, adding in references to the female robot in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, as well as Paleolithic female figurines. Also included in this exhibition are several boats which the artist created for the exhibition Roots/Anchors (a group exhibition with Xaviera Simmons, Katie Holten and Shervone Neckles), which was presented at the Newhouse Gallery at Snug Harbor Cultural Center in 2021, which focused on museum’s maritime history as a rest home for sailors. Corwin chose to consider Anglo Saxon and Viking Boat burials, and the use of the boat as a symbolic link between this world and the next.
Where modernist and minimal sculpture have striven to detach from all meaning, Corwin welcomes it back, propelling viewers back into an era of belief.
Lucy Lippard
