John Born’s Early Thaw is part of his 2024 solo exhibition, Ensemble.

Says John of this series, “My work often begins without any real intention beyond asking the question, ‘what would happen if?’. The meaning of the work is often buried in the subconscious and revealed through the action of making. Recently, it has been an additive process, combining the leftover bits and pieces saved, sometimes for months, from the creation of other pieces. The process began as a way to create order out of what seemed like, and still seems to be, the continual chaos of contemporary life. It was both practical, less waste, and therapeutic.

“The pieces in this show have expanded, or maybe unfurled, from a central axis to be more like portals or webs. They’re not just sculptures you look at but sculptures you can look through. They openly reveal the myriad, tenuous connections that give them structure and keep them from collapsing. To me, there couldn’t be a more apt metaphor for where the world is right now.”