John Grade: Middle Fork

Through his large-scale installations and site-specific works, John Grade (American, b. 1970) explores issues of irrevocable change and natural disintegration. He is recognized for his use of organic motifs and materials in artworks that seek to understand the intrinsic language of nature. Middle Fork continues the artist’s exploration of natural deterioration in a new work created from the casting of a 100 ft tall live old-growth tree. A shell of the tree has been assembled from ¼ inch perforated cedar, which is suspended horizontally in the gallery. From its 10 ft diameter trunk, 12 – 15 ft limbs fork from the trunk offering a new perspective about trees, their relationship to humans, and the relationship of the sculpture to its original source in the landscape. Middle Fork includes additional smaller works by Grade. Middle Fork was presented in conjunction with the Western Cast Iron Art Conference in September 2014. The exhibition and conference were funded by ocky Mountain Power, National Advisory Board for the UW Art Museum Endowment, UW Art Department, UW Art Museum Gala Fund, Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, and the Wyoming Arts Council through the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts