Artist Profiles

The first thing that comes to mind when encountering these pieces is that they must be containers of some sort. You recognize it in the archetypal shapes they possess, whether tall as approximating vases or horizontal like bowls.  From such a perspective, the forms themselves are gracefully sensual in the classical western tradition of vessels. Next you notice the rich surfaces fashioned from the spectacular entanglement of materials by which they are constructed. It�s easy to become seduced by the collective esthetics; so much so that it takes a while for something else to sink in: as vessels, they are completely non-utilitarian. Of course this doesn�t mean they have no use.

Raised Urn, 2001, Mandarin prunings, sheet rock bullets, 25 x31 in

Their real uses are esthetic and metaphorical. Despite what other references they conjure, as objects they are simply beautiful to look at. Laky creates a wonderful relationship between the materials she chooses, how she combines them and the entities they become.  The natural color of the prunings is one thing but combined into these forms those same colors become something else.  The blending gets interesting in the shadows and varying densities of the negative spaces; what is not seen affects what is and vice-versa.  From this a number of allegorical references are suggested beginning with that paradoxical concept of non-utilitarian containers. From there it is a quick  jump to think of them as nests; certainly a piece like Stain suggests as much for the materials as

Desert Edge, 2001, Eucalyptus prunings with deck, 9 x19 in

well as for the forms. This goes a bit deeper when you consider that birds build their nests from found and thus recycled materials.

Stain, 2000, Toothpicks, 6 x16 in

In other directions, a couple of pieces such as Plum Torsion and Rib Structure suggest a sense of spinning motion or of unfinished basket weaving; the skeleton of a basket, as it were.

Plum Torsion, 2000, Plum prunings, sheetrock bullets, 16 x16 in

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