AUGUST 28, 2024KATE MOTHES
“Personages, Elkhart Lake” (2024), found cardboard, staples, and polyurethane, 90 x 43 x 10 inches. All images © Ann Weber, courtesy of Palos Verdes Art Center
From scraps of found cardboard, Ann Weber constructs billowing forms that rise in vibrant patterns—almost figure-like—to greet us. The Los Angeles-based artist (previously) focuses on sustainability, community, and relationships by using found materials and pairing forms. Weber’s titles often suggest individual characters and places, like in “Personages, Elkhart Lake” or “O Buddy, O Pal.” Symbolizing the act of bringing people and ideas together, strips of cardboard are layered, fastened, and intertwined with one another to create a sturdy and reliable structure.
In 1991, when Weber first began to experiment with with medium, she drew on her experience making functional pottery. She was inspired by architect Frank Gehry’s cardboard furniture, and the material was attractive due to its malleability and lightness. A couple decades later, the proliferation of global shipping—the boxes required to deliver goods and the waste they produce—amplified the artist’s interest in repurposing something that might otherwise be landfill-bound.
“Tutti Frutti” (2024), found cardboard, staples, and polyurethane, 96 x 46 x 7 inches
“Who’s (I’m) Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue I (After Barnett Newman)” (2024), found cardboard, staples, and polyurethane, 53 x 30 x 4 inches
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