Teresa Lind @ Gallery 2622

The personable Teresa Lind came to Milwaukee Friday night from Neenah for an opening of her solo exhibition at Wauwatosa's Gallery 2622. The young sculptor most recently participated in “Unruffled Views: Dress as Symbol” at Door County's Peninsula School of Art. Her five feet tall sculpture Rubber Habit also won a merit award in the 2011 Wisconsin Artists Biennial that opened June 26 at Kenosha's Anderson Art Center. Usually Lind can be found at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh teaching sculpture to college art students.

Working with the bronze and iron covers Lind's body in bruises from the heavy lifting and strength involved to construct her sculptures. There are four new pieces making their debut at Gallery 2622, where Lind's skirts depend on mixed media and found materials, similar to how the dress was fashioned in Rubber Habit. Lind enjoys wearing dresses herself even though the clothing allows more of her black and blue marks from the extensive labor necessary for iron work to to be visible. Her skirts represent the traditional symbol of femininity that juxtaposes the cold, hard metal she uses to her advantage to create the casted sculptures.

Lind received her BFA in 1999, and went on to complete a MFA from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee in Sculpture. She also studied in Florence, Italy, which allowed her to observe the flowing costumes and dress from the region's festivals and weddings to inspire her own works. In 2008, she was invited to the Milwaukee Italian Community Center Carnivale and thus began her cone shaped feminine forms and figures with costumes, including masked faces. The artist casts bronze and iron torsos with skirts, with her figures growing ever taller as her confidence and expertise flourishes. Surrounded by these female figures, Lind chats about her evolving sculptures.

How did you begin working in iron?

I love bronze, it was my first love, but then you get into the iron culture. A community of iron casters. I'm full of bruises from carrying around the sculptures and casting. Iron casting is men's work, but the images are feminine. It's about the iron will and strength of a woman.

How do you complete each work? In this show there's a variety of finishes on the forms, and could you talk about the piece White Queen?

White Queen came from the Carnivale Series inspired by the Italian Community Center. When a figure is cast, I only consider it half finished. [After the casting] Then there's the chasing, grinding, coloring and the presentation. For White Queen, I painted it white, brushed it off and then put water on it so it could rust through. I'm experimenting with different finishes. Brushing on water lets them [the sculptures]rust through, then there's paint, and then you can brush on motor oil to burn it on with high heat.

Do you only do women figures?

I occasionally do men, but when I sculpt men it usually takes longer. Men are naturally more rigid and stiff, angular and linear. Feminine forms are soft and flowy, graceful, especially the clothing. It all contrasts with the hardness, rigidness of the iron. And I can deck out the garments with the women. The sculptures are about the body as a canvas to present a person's identity. A desire to be feminine with what it takes to get there, how we express ourselves through clothing.

Can you speak to these new, taller sculptures that you created?

I always try and play off the titles I give them. These are more lighthearted sculptures. This one [a figure in the corner] is Lay Down Sally [from the song by Eric Clapton]. I used rusty metal mattress springs for the dress form, so it has some sexual connotations. And there's Fat Bottom Girl [a sculpture directly next to it with a swirling skirt named after a song by Queen] that creates a gesture that reminds me of a friend who calls herself that, and I put safety goggles on [the sculpture's] her face because she's always wearing them. I used screening material for her dress. I like the mixed media possibilities. I like the aesthetic of picking things up form the scrap yard, that rusty and gritty aesthetic.

What's in your future this coming year?

I've been doing more iron pours. We recently had a first iron pour at UW-Oshkosh. The students I've been teaching  finally get to do what we've been working with. It's really pretty to watch the orange molten metal come out of the spoon. Then in fall, I'm doing an Iron Pour at the Door County Peninsula School of Art for their exhibition and fundraiser. I also won a solo exhibition from the Indianapolis Art Center Iron Symposium, which will feature my even larger sculptures  I was invited there last year which won this exhibition that will be in October. I also have a solo show in fall at Concordia University. In the future I hope to show more women with angst, a personal exploration for me. I love the female torso and cone form from the skirts. I get to do both.

Stop by Gallery 2622 (2622 North Wauwatosa Avenue) to view Lind's artwork. Call the gallery to make an appointment because these nine beautiful sculptures, including the four new figures, present a redefined perspective of femininity through a carefully crafted iron technique. Her work may also be seen online at mainstreetartworks.com For information about the gallery and visits: 414.257.2622.