* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
K. Carrington is an artist based in Durango, CO.
The artist explains the work by saying, “Because my artwork isn’t and cannot be displayed in the traditional gallery setting, the work is able to inspire people who aren’t typically exposed to art. There is a sense of serendipity attached to my environmental installations; any unsuspecting passersby can stumble on them and experience the art without institutionalized preconceptions. There is an inherent violence in all things- a violence that can and should be harnessed. My art highlights the elegant subtext of this violence in both the natural and man-made worlds- two spheres in which I see little distinction. This violence is made manifest in my assemblages that mimic natural phenomena. Wires, screws, metal shavings, and other industrial refuse are assembled into structures that seem at-odds with the material from which they are constructed. A careful ensemble of many, smaller pieces becomes a singular, more powerful form. My work consistently sets two ideas in stark contrast: structure with chaos, strength with fragility, decay with rebirth. The environment in which each piece lives is of equal importance to the forms. Growing up as an adopted child, I had a peculiar relationship with my environment, bending and twisting myself to achieve some sort of harmony though acutely aware of the disparity I had with my surroundings. The artwork is permanently installed in undisclosed locations and left to the elements or any unsuspecting passersby. Serendipity is an important element in my work; an encounter with a piece affords the viewer a glimpse of the uncanny harmony that is achieved between the work and the surrounding landscape. The textures, colors and shapes can either echo that of the landscape or stand in palpable contrast. The photo documentation of each piece is done in the season and time of day that best highlights this essential symbiosis between the work and the environment. The photograph also stands as the only permanent testimony to the work. The rest of the story is left to nature’s violent imperfection—not the sterility of a gallery wall.”
