ORONTO, May 12, 2016 – Inventive Canadian sculptor Maskull Lasserre will be working on a large scale wood carving at York University, today, May 12, 2pm to 3:30pm.
The currently untitled project, one of two he's working on at York U, incorporates his trademark material sensibility, humor, tension and sense of the macabre. While a 10’6” ash log has had its middle section roughed away and whittled down to reveal the form of a fraying rope (a rope that would surely snap if the weight of the log was poorly supported), the other log is being carved into a fully articulating universal joint that will be able to bend on both an x and y axis.
“I enjoy creating an element of psychic and physical tension in my work,” says Lasserre. “My motivation stems from a curiosity around the limits of what a material can withstand. When a viewer approaches these sculptures I want them to see the whole history of the objects, both the tree’s own narrative, from its size and bark to the arborist’s chainsaw marks at the bottom, as well as the narrative that I am adding to it.”
From May 2 to 13, Lasserre is the 2016 Louis Odette Sculptor-in-Residence at York U’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design. The residency is held conjunction with the Intensive Sculpture Workshop, a fourth-year course offered by the Department of Visual Art & Art History. It brings leading sculptors to campus to create work and mentor and empower emerging artists. For more info visit: http://ampd.yorku.ca/news/odette-sculptor-in-residence-to-give-public-talk/
WHAT: Large scale wood carving in progress by Maskull Lasserre
WHERE: Odette Centre for Sculpture in the Joan & Martin Goldfarb Centre for Fine Arts, 86 Fine Arts Road, York University, Keele Campus (building number 36 on map)
WHEN: Monday, May 12, 2016, 2pm-3:30pm
NOTE: Students and their works in progress will also be on site.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Lasserre was among the international group of artists invited by the British street artist and political activist Banksy to contribute to his 2015 dystopian theme park project, Dismaland. He was also a recent participant in the Canadian Forces War Artist Program in Afghanistan. He is represented in the collections of the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal and the Government of Canada, among others. He has exhibited across Canada, in the US and Europe, including at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the Grassi Museum in Leipzig, Germany. Recent residencies include the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. and the California College of Art, San Francisco.
York University is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our 52,000 students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 24 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide.
Media Contact:
Gloria Suhasini, York University Media Relations, 416 736 2100 ext. 22094, suhasini@yorku.ca
