Cradles in the Sea

Description

In Cradles in the Sea, William Moore and Christian Burchard experiment with combining wood and copper in a seamless union of materials exposing the depth of human imagination. Moore’s carefully patinated copper, joined with Burchard’s extremely thin gourd-like wooden forms, creates a piece evocative of a fantastic sea creature or plant: alive, appearing to dance on its long tapering stems. The assembled piece is surreal and whimsical, but nonetheless retains a strong rational form. It is alluring because it seems to belong to a world separate from ours. Despite its alien nature, it remains familiar.
Receiving degrees from the University of Michigan, William Moore has spent many years exploring the sculptural potential of the vessel form, often using a combination of wood and non-ferrous metal turned on the lathe. Both the form and choice of materials play a role in the reception of the piece created. Christian Burchard has been working with Pacific madrone burl for several years. He likes the way it changes when it dries, allowing the wood to “find its own shape.” The resultant form is often warped, creating “attitude, gesture, and, when grouping these shapes together, relationships.”
from the exhibition Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, June 12 – October 3, 2004