1993
Orange garbage pail, galvanized sheet metal, bolts, string, wooden furniture, wood, paper, oil pastel, oil and acrylic paint, linoleum tile, electrical wires, hinge
60 x 62 x 38 in

152.4 x 157.5 x 96.5 cm

Collection Weatherspoon Art Museum, The University of South Carolina at Greensboro, Museum Purchase with funds from the Judy Proctor Acquisitions Endowment, 2002

1995

Wicker chair, plastic tub, light fixture with bulb, synthetic polymer, oil paint, plastic, fabric, concrete, resin, wood, wheels, acrylic yarn, glass and cookie in resin
71.5 x 63 x 50 in

181.6 x 160 x 127 cm

Collection Whitney Museum of American Art, New York: gift of the Jack E. Chachkes Estate, by exchange, and purchase with funds from the Peter Norton Family Foundation and Linda and Ronald F. Daitz

Dynamic Forms: Creating a Narrative Through Action

Stockholder’s work is dynamic.  Her objects appear alive, imbued with an almost mechanical, rather than organic, energy.  Even her most stationary forms become animated as she appropriates them for unexpected purposes.  For example, Stockholder uses cords to connect visual elements in the sculpture, similar to the way many artists use pencil lines in a gesture drawing.  Repetition in color pattern bounces the eye from plane to plane, pushing and pulling the expected dimensions of the piece, flattening space or giving the impression of depth.  Viewers of Stockholder’s work become active participants, traveling through landscapes filled with both the familiar and the unexpected.


Stockholder uses color to transform the materials in this piece, which is symmetrical and self-contained but far from static.  Swatches of fabric and plastic cover the globe-like armature of a chair, which in turn balances on the sculpture’s awkward base.  The viewer’s eye moves in a circular rather than linear direction, swirling from element to element. Unlike Stockholder’s collages, which only imply three dimensional space, this work—which includes wheels attached to its base—is meant to be viewed from all sides. Instead of a resting chair, the concave form now appears ready to tilt forward and catch the wind, much like a parachute.

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