Layering Found Cardboard into Communing Forms, Ann Weber’s Sculptures Emphasize Togetherness
From scraps of found cardboard, Ann Weber constructs billowing forms that rise in vibrant patterns—almost figure-like—to greet us. The Los Angeles-based artist (previously) focuses on sustainability, community, and relationships by using found materials and pairing forms. Weber’s titles often suggest individual characters and places, like in “Personages, Elkhart Lake” or “O Buddy, O Pal.” Symbolizing the act of bringing people and ideas together, strips of cardboard are layered, fastened, and intertwined with one another to create a sturdy and reliable structure.
In 1991, when Weber first began to experiment with the medium, she drew on her experience making functional pottery. She was inspired by architect Frank Gehry’s cardboard furniture, and the material was attractive due to its malleability and lightness. A couple of decades later, the proliferation of global shipping—the boxes required to deliver goods and the waste they produce—amplified the artist’s interest in repurposing something that might otherwise be landfill-bound.
In Let the Sunshine In, the artist’s forthcoming solo exhibition at Palos Verdes Art Center, Weber taps into not only the famously blue skies of Southern California but the optimism essential to sustaining relationships during turbulent times, embracing perspectives that may differ from our own and maintaining the foundations of community. Through the colorful works in this exhibition, Weber proposes that in the face of adversity, positivity can be a radical act.
Let the Sunshine In runs from September 14 to November 16 in Los Angeles. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
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