Ann Sperry at Kraushaar

There's a story behind sculptor Ann Sperry's "My Piano" series. According to her artist's statement, when she was a young girl, she demanded a piano; her parents bought a spinet piano for her, and her nursery school teacher gave her instruction. Years later, after her parents had passed away, she came across papers revealing that her father had purchased the piano on time and had made payments for 10 years--by which time Sperry had stopped taking lessons. The piano followed Sperry's moves and was loaned to friends; eventually, it became too old to repair. Sperry had a sentimental attachment to it, however, and decided to commemorate her father's devotion by dismantling the piano and using the parts for a group of assemblages.

My Piano 10 (2002) is a cascade of wood, metal and felt 30 inches long; wire rods ending in felt dampers function as linear aspects of the composition. The wooden parts look like they might have come from the piano's legs; these small pieces, arranged into columns, stabilize the work by maintaining centers of gravity. Around them, some bent and many straight wires offer a flurry of activity. What is interesting about My Piano 10, a thoroughly engaging work, is the way it captures a sense of the moment--the pieces looks like they have been caught in mid-fall.

My Piano 6 (2002) is a horizontal compilation of disparate forms almost 2 feet long. One end is a piano leg, complete with a roller wheel. It is attached to a golden sphere, from the opposite side of which a short piece of piano leg emerges, joined to a longer, fluted part of the leg. My Piano I (2000) consists of a roughly heart-shaped metal frame, inside which is a gathering of red felt. On top of it, a bunch of white piano keys poke out from behind the steel frame, and a wedge-shaped piece of metal cuts into the central space from above. The work, although an inspired revision of the different textures among the various materials of the piano, is committed to its abstract identity. It is an effective assemblage that draws power from the story behind it.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group