Jonathan Dankenbring

My studio practice is a meditation on the duality of peace and conflict and how it is manifested in our daily actions. The resulting works examine how we use imagery and objects to build and then act upon ideology. I borrow from a broad set of formal languages, from liturgical furniture and consumer technology to advanced weaponry. A variety of media is used to produce the works, including aluminum, brass, carbon fiber, Kevlar, acrylic, and resin. While the projects are mostly sculptural or installation based, they, at times, act as a strange form of painting. The use of tar, enamels, and other surface treatments prompt the viewer to question the inherent problems tied to image making. I consider visual subtlety and quietness paramount, providing brief moments of punctuated, brash clarity. The works act as a starting point, a source, or a platform; they are a place to pause to reconsider the objects and structures in our lives and the rituals surrounding them. The often stark works do not offer a complete, or concise, piece of affirmation or contradiction for any set of viewers.