Ordinary Nails Transformed Into Extraordinary Artworks By John Bisbee

“Only nails, always different.” This is the mantra of American sculptor John Bisbee, and it takes just a glance at one of his striking artworks to gauge the truthfulness and modesty of that statement. Born in 1965, the artist has created nail art for almost three decades by shaping, twisting and curving ordinary metal nails into magical and simply extraordinary wall art and sculptures which have a lasting impact on the viewer. John Bisbee’s work has been reviewed in Art in America, The New Yorker and The New York Times, among others, and displayed in solo exhibitions at various museums, including at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri and at the Portland Museum of Art which has recently acquired the ‘Hearsay’ free-standing sculpture. The artist’s body of work includes vastly different yet intrinsically linked pieces ranging from geometrical wall art with clean and precise lines to abstract or figurative works. Most of the sculptures are created in situ and designed to integrate into the existing architecture and to inhabit the surrounding space in a natural way. Thematically, the artworks vary from humorous pieces to sculptures that seem inspired by dark fables. Flowing lines, organic shapes and dynamic forms are complemented by clean geometry and intricate patterns, reminding the viewer at every glance that these are common nails metamorphosed into wondrous artworks by a talented artist. If you want to see John Bisbee’s brand new work, you shouldn’t miss The Needle and The Milkmaid exhibition at the Sapar Contemporary gallery in TriBeCa, which runs from September 8 – October 10, 2016. Images courtesy of Sapar Contemporary.