Focus: Vincent Fecteau, New Work

Vincent Fecteau is a San Francisco–based artist known for transforming ordinary materials such as foamcore, seashells, string, rubber bands, paper clips, walnut shells, and popsicle sticks into meticulously handcrafted sculptures. Typically modest in size and constructed of papier-mâché, his spatially complex objects deal with in-between forms that on the one hand, reflect his interest in architecture and design while on the other stand as uncompromising, wholly distinctive creations. Using a labor-intensive process of subtraction and addition, Fecteau typically works on a group of objects simultaneously, which often takes a year or more to complete.

This exhibition debuts eight new works by Fecteau that highlight recent formal and perceptual developments in his practice. Without relying on preparatory sketches, the artist begins with the same spherical shape, which is contorted and reworked, rendering the original form barely recognizable. In a departure from the work of preceding years, collage elements are no longer present, and his usual muted palette of grays, tans, and blacks have given way to brightly colored acrylics that obscure and complicate a clear reading of the form. Fecteau’s layering of materials and textures reveals a creative process that is an apparent study in opposites—minimal and ornate, strong and lightweight, random and planned, discordant and harmonious.

Sponsor: This exhibition is supported by the Alfred L. McDougal and Nancy Lauter McDougal Fund for Contemporary Art.

Focus: Vincent Fecteau, New Work