Paul McClure
September 5 - October 3, 2020
Reception by Appointment: September 12 from 11am-3pm & September 13 from 2-6pm
Craft Ontario Gallery, 1106 Queen Street West, Toronto
‘Slice’ is a collection of jewellery expressing my fascination with the microscopic realm of the human body. Abstract forms refer to bacteria, viruses, cells and their structures within us. As these invisible but universal components come to define us, they also acquire cultural meaning independent of their biological definition. The highly aestheticized microscopic imagery and cutaway diagrams from popular science are particular sources of inspiration for this work: geometric forms, graphic patterns and vibrant colours. Slicing through these forms reveals surprising and pleasing sections and patterns. However, the slice, like a microbe itself, exposes tensions between the benevolent and sinister, the beautiful and ugly, the fascinating and fearful.
Slice is a digitally handmade body of work. The conceptual development began before the COVID-19 pandemic, with research during an artist residency at Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery in the UK. The residency provided the opportunity to hone digital modelling skills and explore the 3D printing technologies of selective laser sintering and direct metal laser melting. I created forms in nylon and silver with precision and detail that would be otherwise impossible to fabricate through traditional metalworking skills. Computer modelling and illustration produce exceptional visualizations that can be cut away, made translucent, reduced to wireframe or rendered in vibrant colours. My work references digital aesthetics, transmuting them into the tangible and physical world.
Slice also alludes to the method by which computer models form, virtually slicing them into thousands of cross-sections that the 3D printer then builds layer upon layer, slice by slice. Following my residency, I transformed the components made through digital technologies by using time-honoured jewellery techniques — carving, forming, fabricating and finishing. My conceptual development continues to express an intentional melding of digital and analogue making that reflects my interest in biology, pathology, additive manufacturing technologies and traditional jewellery methodologies.
– Paul McClure
Paul McClure is an Irish-Canadian artist and designer of contemporary jewellery. His work is represented in private and public collections including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Canadian Museum of History; Design Museum of Barcelona; and National Museums Scotland. McClure graduated from NSCAD University, Halifax, Canada (BFA, 1989); Escola Massana, Barcelona, Spain (1990); and National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland (MA, 1999). He is professor in the School of Fashion & Jewellery at George Brown College, Toronto. In 2015, McClure received the Saidye Bronfman Award, a Governor General’s Award, Canada’s foremost distinction for excellence in the visual arts.
McClure is represented by Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h in Montréal, Canada.
www.paulmcclure.com
The artist gratefully acknowledges support from the Ontario Arts Council, Birmingham City University and George Brown College.
