Form and formality have always attracted me, and explains my love of geometry. Line, dimensionality, form, and color are my ways of looking at the world. I seek in each work to convey a presence and invite a deeper experience – in space, volume, and light, drawing the viewer inward.
To borrow from Robert Irwin’s wording, each piece I create is “conditional art”, meaning that it is designed specifically for the site, whether for a living room or office lobby.
Sculptures are, by their nature, a presence, living in three dimensions. In the lighted works, called “Portals”, the light emphasizes form, creates volume and beckons the viewer to look beyond the edges.
Color has its own language, and is chosen for the individual environment of each piece.
Other artworks that at first appear to be two-dimensional are actually three, with grooves or pieces mounted on the surface. With the interplay of color, they allow for playful possibilities.
Works in wood are finished with 10 to 15 coats of paint to create a very smooth, flat finish, and to enhance a minimal “feel”. Some of the larger sculptures have a high-gloss finish, which was chosen (again) for the environment.
It’s important to note that each artwork is a collaboration. It begins with a discussion with the client about the space and environment. The project then proceeds through various design refinements, then into production, finishing, completion and installation.
Pamela Gwaltney
Artist Bio
Most of my work is wall-hung sculpture, fabricated in wood and finished in acrylic or urethane. Since 2012 I have been creating pieces that are backlit, which adds another kind of dimensionality.
After many years as an executive in advertising and publishing, I returned to the art world in the early 2000s, first as a collector of post-war geometric abstraction, and then as an artist. I took a work hiatus in the early ‘80s to study full-time at the Corcoran School of Art, concentrating in photography, and in 2006 returned there to study sculpture and painting in the continuing-education program.
The works of Anne Truitt, Donald Judd, John McLaughlin, Burgoyne Diller, Robert Irwin, James Turrell, Doug Wheeler and other artists who have worked with light and/or in a minimalist style have been my inspiration. Some of these artists were members of the “Light and Space” movement in Southern California in the 1960s and 1970s, and they have been a big influence.
I started with painted wood columns, similar to Anne Truitt’s, and went from there to design wall pieces with interchangeable elements. I like the idea of being able to change something I live with every day, even if it’s a small element.
Adding light has been the next evolution.
Exhibitions
Solo Show, April 2019
Martha Spak Gallery, Washington, DC, March
Sculpture Now, 2017
Sponsored by The Washington Sculpture Group and McLean Project for the Arts
Juried Group Show
Different Strokes, “The Art of Abstraction”, 2017
Artists in Middleburg
Juried Group Show
Carroll Square Gallery, “This Is Light”, 2015
Curated by Hemphill Gallery
Group Show