September 5 – October 12, 2024
ArtX Contemporary is proud to announce our first solo exhibition with Chris Maynard, From Flight to Form: Hand-Carved Feathers. Maynard celebrates the patterns and colors of birds’ feathers by hand-carving and assembling them into exquisite, detailed sculptures. In this exhibition, Maynard debuts a new large-scale installation alongside framed pieces, inviting viewers to appreciate the intricacies of the natural world.
Maynard’s unique method of sculpting feathers into detailed scenes and displaying them in shadow boxes accentuates the beauty of the feathers themselves. Maynard places each feather fragment on an entomology pin so that they float and cast shadows over the background. For Maynard, feathers represent flight, transformation, and a bridge between our present lives and our dreams. “We want to fly but cannot.” he says. “But birds can, so their feathers become symbols of this yearning. Feathers are perfect by themselves.” Presenting them in slightly altered ways while still retaining their innate natural qualities, he encourages people to see feathers in new ways.
Based in Olympia, WA, Maynard works with feathers from turkeys, parrots, peacocks, and other birds. A conservationist at heart, Maynard received a BA in Biology from Evergreen State College and worked for the Washington State Department of Ecology prior to becoming a full-time artist. This passion drives him to ensure all his feathers are legally obtained and naturally shed. “Once a feather has finished its life as part of a bird, I believe it still has much to offer” explains Maynard, “the essence of a bird is inherent in each of its feathers. In carving and arranging a feather into a thought-provoking scene, I use an individual feather’s unique qualities to celebrate the bird that gave us the feather.”
Maynard’s work is included in private collections and featured in publications in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. His 2014 book, Feathers, Form & Function, highlights his work and tells stories about what feathers are, what roles they fill for birds, and why people find them alluring.
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