Jerry Daniel Artist Statement

ARTISTS’ STATEMENT:

Jerry Daniel
Dances with Steel
jdaniel.com

Simplicity is the first form in nature and the last in art. The simplicity of a calligraphic brushstroke executed three-dimensionally in steel, is for me, the Haiku poetry of sculpture.

For the past twenty-five years I have been exploring the idea of reducing the human figure to brush strokes of steel in space to create forms which suggest joy, exuberance, movement and rhythm in space. Rather than the space compressing figures of Giacometti, I wanted my forms to expand space and flow in visual harmony with both nature and architecture. My favorite description of my art is a quote I’ve borrowed from
Henri Matisse:

 "I've always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have the light joyousness of springtime which never let anyone suspect the labor it has cost me."