Andrew Werby
Artist Statement
“Natural objects speak a language of their own, which is independent of any artistic style developed by man. By capturing Nature’s forms and textures and using them in combination with each other to concentrate their innate power, searching for affinities, mating one with another and combining them into works of art, I feel I’m becoming conversant in this language, which is at the root of our innate sense of beauty. In my Juxtamorphic work, I’m attempting to construct an aesthetic based entirely on Nature, not by representing or abstracting it, but by dealing with it directly on its own terms.”
Archive
Catalog
A selection of Andrew Werby’s work in art and design is presented on this website. As well as showing sets of photographic IMAGES, many of the sculptural pieces are presented as interactive 3D displays. Two techniques were used to do this: 3D scanning and photogrammetry (MODELS) and Gaussian splatting (SPLATS).
Background
Biography
Andrew Werby started making ceramic sculpture while in elementary school. As an undergraduate at the University of California at Berkeley in the 1970s, he became involved in learning the technique of lost-wax bronze casting, which Peter Voulkos and others were reviving as a skill for artists to master directly, in contrast to the then-usual practice of consigning a maquette to a professional foundry for enlargement, molding, and casting. The ability of molds to capture sculpturally significant information from natural objects was a cause of particular fascination. Borrowing specimens from the paleontology, anthropology, and geology departments of the University, he made a series of molds, which became the nucleus of a mold library representing hundreds of natural objects. From these first molds, wax casts were made, then combined into composite creations which were cast in bronze and aluminum. Since receiving his Design degree, he has continued to pursue further applications of this idea, producing sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, holograms, architectural hardware, computer graphics, and various art objects in this “Juxtamorphic” style. An innovator in matters of technique as well as in aesthetics, he developed the Sculpted Paint process to produce colorful and highly detailed but durable sculpture and jewelry. He has shown his work around the world, including China, India, Japan, and Europe as well as in many US states.
Studio
Practice
Andrew Werby is a founder of the Juxtamorphic Art Movement. Juxtamorphic art uses information from natural objects as its vocabulary, combining forms, textures, and images taken directly from Nature using 3D scans, molds, impressions, photographs, and holograms. He feels that juxtaposing the natural forms, textures, and images that constitute the Earth’s aesthetic heritage and experiencing them in novel contexts can prompt a new appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us. Click for more on JUXTAMORPHISM.
