
Pierre Pyke
On Pierre Pyke...
Jill Baker
Pierre makes books and collage on paper as part of an ongoing body of work that can be carried with him, deconstructed and reconstructed, written and rewritten. Watching Pierre work in the studio is like watching a performance. Language and symbols, through the act of writing and deciphering, recording and grading, seem to be prominent elements that make up his daily performances. In recent work, Pierre will first make a series of text drawings that resemble shorthand or automatic writing. The text drawings are then deconstructed in a performative way that consists of folding, stacking, and cutting. These shapes are often taped to paper as collage or further cut down until they are tiny pieces and discarded. Other collage work involves cutting down collaborative drawings found on the tables at Living Studios. This cyclical and durational process of creation and revision is performed with each visit Pierre makes to Living Studios. At the end of the day he packs up his paper in his portfolio and carries it with him to re-emerge in new forms with his next visit.
On Pierre Pyke...
Jill Baker
Pierre makes books and collage on paper as part of an ongoing body of work that can be carried with him, deconstructed and reconstructed, written and rewritten. Watching Pierre work in the studio is like watching a performance. Language and symbols, through the act of writing and deciphering, recording and grading, seem to be prominent elements that make up his daily performances. In recent work, Pierre will first make a series of text drawings that resemble shorthand or automatic writing. The text drawings are then deconstructed in a performative way that consists of folding, stacking, and cutting. These shapes are often taped to paper as collage or further cut down until they are tiny pieces and discarded. Other collage work involves cutting down collaborative drawings found on the tables at Living Studios. This cyclical and durational process of creation and revision is performed with each visit Pierre makes to Living Studios. At the end of the day he packs up his paper in his portfolio and carries it with him to re-emerge in new forms with his next visit.
Pierre Pyke at work... much of the meaningful work created by artists here does not fit easily into what some of us consider to be 'art'. Here Pierre creates complex, organized, intentional grids on copier paper on which he has drawn symbols, letters, numbers and some words. It is as mysterious and challenging as any good performance or installation... and as a day ends there is not necessarily a final product for us as he constantly shuffles, organizes, stack and adds to the blend which he carefully puts back into his bag...