Artist Statement
I maintain a studio in Baltimore where I design and fabricate outdoor kinetic sculpture, powered by the wind. My commitment to wind activated sculpture and its connection to the environment has been a passion of mine my entire career. I like making things. In the process of making them, my mind is free to wander … sort of like daydreaming.
My sculptures address nature (wind, light and movement) and are appropriate for outdoor settings. Previous works have been exhibited on street-scape medians, sculpture gardens, and plazas – public art that engages viewers, both pedestrians and auto passengers alike. Kinetic sculptural elements indicate the rotation of the earth, velocity of the wind and mark time.
My sculptures engage the community making what often goes unnoticed around become noticed – the wind, its speed and direction, moments of calm, sun and reflection, the importance of water. These are not simple realities yet they are everyday occurrences that in our time can be missed.
For Give & Take, I am showing 2D works that are investigations into the development of sculptural ideas and are usually only seen in my studio.
Artist Biography
PAUL DANIEL, an artist noted for kinetic sculpture, has exhibited work in numerous venues including most recently Acknowledging the Wind, a show of seven major kinetic sculptures at Ladew Topiary Gardens. Other sites include the 2016-17 International Kinetic Sculpture Exhibition, Boynton Beach, FLA; 2016-17 ArtSites, Howard County, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC and Katzen Arts Center, American University, Washington DC.
Mr. Daniel has received a number of awards for his sculpture, among them a Municipal Art Society Grant, MD State Arts Council Individual Artists Grant, Henry Walters Traveling Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant.
For Give & Take, he is happy to show his 2D works that are investigations into the development of sculptural ideas and usually only seen in his studio.
These drawings/paintings/assemblages develop over time – they are tools in the process of making the sculptures. Some are more formal than others in that there are foundation images in the work with details layered on top. For example the use of Caravaggio’s Medusa image referenced the complexity of a developing piece (a proposed sculpture that raised water) and became the starting point for adding elements to the sculpture as decisions were being made.
Mr. Daniel received his BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and was awarded an MFA from Rinehart School of Sculpture, Maryland Institute College of Art.