Toby Zallman
Untitled Flotsam
2017

About the Item

Artist Commentary: In my sculpture, I have always combined unrelated materials to represent oppositions such as hard and soft, ephemeral and enduring, open and closed, and natural and fabricated. The usefulness of the plastic bags belies the damage that they wreak on the environment. I am intrigued by transforming these bags into multi-layer content, as their allusion to skin and flora give me a large range of possibilities. Keywords: manmade, wire, plastic Artist Biography: Toby Zallman has always combined unrelated materials to represent dialectical oppositions such as hard/soft, ephemeral/enduring, open/closed and natural/fabricated. Since 2004 I have been using some form of recycled material as the basis for my pieces. Three sculpture series of Toby’s from 2004 until 2011 combine organic and/or industrial materials with technology detritus, such as computer boxes, circuits and keyboards. The Communications series is a comment on the disconnect between contemporary communications technology and our ability to actually communicate with one another. The Keyboard series utilizes the computer keys to create language which expresses personal content. These “messages from my keyboards” relate to current and past relationships with herself and others. The two Computer series reference our technological culture and its impact on our bodies, minds, relationships, and the environment. In Toby’s drawing, she is eager to develop an interplay between digital and analog processes, expanding what is considered a drawing. She begin the pieces using photography, later manipulating these images on the computer and outputting them on a laser printer. She then works on them using conventional drawing mediums such as graphite and charcoal. Recently, Toby has started outputting the drawings as inkjet prints which has allowed her to introduce color into the drawings. The ubiquitous presence of plastic bags in our lives has inspired the most recent sculpture, paintings, and drawings. Their usefulness belies the damage that they wreak on the environment. She is intrigued by transforming the bags into multi-layered content. Their allusion to skin and flora and fauna provide a rich range of possibilities. Toby has been exploring moving the drawings into three dimensions. While she has not yet arrived at a clear direction for these pieces, the investigation has opened up new possibilities for her work. Toby has exhibited her work in museums and galleries all over the United States. In addition, Toby has received several prestigious awards including the the YADDO Fellowship at the YADDO Art Colony and The MacDowell Fellowship at the MacDowell Colony.

Creator:

Toby Zallman

Creation Year:

2017

Dimensions:

Height: 76 in (193.04 cm)Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)Depth: 24 in (60.96 cm)

Medium:

Mixed Media

Movement & Style:

Abstract

Period:

21st Century