On Rocks - "A rock sits on the gallery floor side by side with its twin, a copy of itself cast in iron. The violent power of the lightning is also plain to see, particularly in the gleam of a polished edge in “Bronze Wall Strike.” Curiously, the effect is a simultaneous evocation of the tree, the lightning and the devastating instant of impact." In his bronze or iron castings of wood splintered by lightning, the strength and structure of the growing tree are faithfully reproduced in the details of its wood grain. Inspired by a shattered piece of pine he found while walking in the woods, the latter works on a theme familiar in art as well as in folklore-the tree as a conduit between the two realms. On strikes - "The relationship of earth and sky is fundamental in much of Ruppert’s work, and he explores it in both his photographs and his “Lightning Strike” series. In some instances the actual natural object is shown in context to the metal casting. Wood fragments blown from trees struck by lightning, boulders worn by glaciers and water, and currently hybrid oversized gourds have been used for patterns for the castings. My most recent castings address the way creative forces in nature shape material comparing time and material. What interests me most about a cast object is its fossil like nature: its ability to retain and convey information. I see the processes and elements used to shape metal in the foundry as a metaphor for the forces that have shaped and are shaping our environment. The sources for my work are drawn from the landscape and the processes that have formed it, the scale and power of industry, and the effect that environmental forces have on human ordering, ranging from remote ancient ruins to urban archeology. Over the past several years I have been working with the metal casting process to create my sculpture.
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