Art Habit: Short Answer Sunday: Geoffrey Aldridge-Duncan

Meant to elicit quick, intuitive responses, Short Answer Sunday will introduce readers to a wide variety of artists, educators, writers, curators, art enthusiasts and art adjacent individuals whose inclinations I admire. With the intent of getting to know the person behind the artwork as well generating new avenues to artistic discovery, participants may respond with only a few words or an artist’s name, always with the opportunity to elaborate if they wish!

Geoffrey Aldridge-Duncan is an artist who employs the tension of opposites in his work, chromatic ones, but also those of value, surface, and material. I’m head over heels for his recent sculptures, assortments of paring knives and structural I-beams that are constructed from porcelain, stoneware and colored glazes. These interpretations of common, utilitarian objects still carry symbolic resonance; however, any expectation of actual functionality is undermined by the surprising material switcheroo.

With shifting, sensitive surfaces that retain traces of the making process, I find Geoffrey’s I-beam sculptures particularly captivating. No longer capable of bearing weight (even the weight of my expectations), they become objects open to new interpretations. Rectangular colored glazes wrap around edges and corners, disturbing the physical shape with optical interruptions that flatten and distort the form (color power in action). I’m thinking, too, of the way Ali Smith writes about edges in her book Artful (excellent read recommended by recent S.A.S. subject Barbara Weissberger) as places of transgression, borders to cross over, and thresholds of forbidden magic. Finally, chef’s kiss to the whole installation of Geoffrey’s recent solo Heavy Load at Wagner College, esp. the pairing of the ceramic sculptures with plywood pedestals. I really wish I could have seen it in person.

Geoffrey is a grad school friend so that means I’ve been following his work for just about 20 years now. I found Geoffrey’s opinions incredibly insightful in school and I love how he speaks and writes about his work now (yes please to thinking about color as an argument) so go see more on his website and follow him on Instagram. Geoffrey never ceases to amaze and inspire so I know you’re going to love his Short Answer Sunday.
xo, Lauren

Name: Geoffrey Aldridge-Duncan
Occupation: Artist
Astrological data: Sun is Taurus, Moon is Scorpio and Rising is Virgo. Year of the rabbit
Hometown: Paxton, IL
Current location: New York

Other than Instagram, how do you find new-to-you artists?

Visiting galleries, alternative spaces, art fairs, museums

An artwork that makes you laugh?

Oops, Laurel Nakadate