Kathy Renwald: Seek Shelter

Kathy Renwald Building #1 2011

Kathy Renwald Building #1 detail 2011

Kathy Renwald Building #7 2011

Kathy Renwald Building #7 2011

Kathy Renwald Building #7 2011

Kathy Renwald has the Midas touch: everything she does, she does well. When she isn't writing about gardens or cars, she's up to her elbows in paper, cardboard, tape, glue and tacks creating her own models of Kurt Schwitters' Merzbau. Her show, Seek Shelter, is on at you me gallery in Hamilton until June 5. Renwald has been collaging for over ten years and two years ago she turned to attention to assemblage and the results are stunning. The sculptures could easily be models for avant garde stage sets for Cirque du Soleil.


Her artist statement reads:

"Buildings in decay, in rebirth, attacked by wind and water, blown apart, put back together again.

Plywood, plastic, cardboard, tin, tape, glue and tacks, whatever it takes to shut out chaos and create shelter.

My shelters were built with urgency, without method, in a rush to outfox the shifting earth."

Paired with Renwald's Seek Shelter is Evelyn Kelch's Well Dressed Man that I will write about in a separate post. Renwald and Kelch are a brilliant pairing. If you haven't already seen the show, go before it's too late.