Observatory, Socrates Sculpture Park, 2008-2009
Vesela Sretenovic, Curator, Bell Gallery, Brown University
In Observatory, Westermann adopts the vocabulary of minimalist art, using elemental abstract shapes, but at the same time she goes beyond the minimalist rigid, impersonal character. Instead, her work keeps its orientation toward some narrative or poetic contents, which although never explicitly conveyed is suggestive of a range of moods and sentiments. Moreover, by choosing the color white for all her pieces, she recalls the modernist notion of purity of forms and materials by which the matter is transformed into spirit. It is this contemplative quality that gives Westermann's work a special power, referring back to the meaning of “observatory” as a place for observation and contemplation.
In Observatory, Westermann adopts the vocabulary of minimalist art, using elemental abstract shapes, but at the same time she goes beyond the minimalist rigid, impersonal character. Instead, her work keeps its orientation toward some narrative or poetic contents, which although never explicitly conveyed is suggestive of a range of moods and sentiments. Moreover, by choosing the color white for all her pieces, she recalls the modernist notion of purity of forms and materials by which the matter is transformed into spirit. It is this contemplative quality that gives Westermann's work a special power, referring back to the meaning of “observatory” as a place for observation and contemplation.