SUBCUTANEOUS: Exposing Human and Material Narrative

Works by Josh Mitchel and Tyler Stanton

July 31–October 2, 2021

Touchstone Center for Crafts
1049 Wharton Furnace RD
Farmington, PA 15437

Gallery Hours:
Thursday–Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm

My work explores the psychological conflict that exists within all of us and the anxiety which hides just below the surface of banality and daily pleasantries. Fascinated by personality, Freud’s personality construct, and alter ego, the figurative elements in my work allude to the id, the source of our rage and lust, pleasure and gluttony. Enshrouded figures and truncated torsos plea for empathy as something familiar. Yet suspended in darkness and stripped of identity – these articles exist only as the encapsulated trace of what was.

Serving as both a vehicle for human form and as a metaphor, I deploy these artifacts in place of the figure. I endeavor to create a haunting stillness – one that permeates the environment of each piece. Consequently, in place of something figurative exists a disturbing surrogate. I toil to achieve a disquieting tension which serves both as a metaphor and as symbol with empathy revolving around the human experience.

–Josh Mitchel

My work is an examination of the identities innate to discarded materials, identities that are rich in potential and narrative. I believe discarded materials have both a history and the potential for a future. We live in a country built on narratives and potential. The narrative of our past and the potential for our future, “making something out of nothing”, it’s the American Dream. In this modern era we now see its social and economic flaws, yet we as a society are still fascinated with potential. Traditionally potential for betterment is applied to people and individuals, as is a personal narrative; however, rarely do we identify narrative or potential inherent to inanimate materials. 

My practice of examining the potential of salvaged materials is informed deeply by the materials themselves. The contemporary forms of my furniture and wooden objects are characterized by clean lines, functionalism, and the use of negative space. My work uses a familiar language not only in materials but also in joinery inspired from living spaces and homes. The furniture forms serve as platforms for the reclaimed materials to present evidence of their previous uses. These narratives of previous use are highlighted in my work through exploiting found surface treatments, weathering, and scars left from mechanical fasteners like nails and screws. The parallel goals of my practice are to investigate a personal history with these materials, while also preserving narratives and invoking potential from them. 

–Tyler Stanton