Alexandra Radocchia Zealand

Like Moths to a Flame (2010)

2010-06-01T18:06:00.000-07:00

Grapefruit pith, wax, nylon thread, beads
2010

Installation in 16'x27'x27' room
Evolve Urban Arts Project

Absence of Flight 3, 2009

2010-04-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

Grape Stems, acrylic, epoxy, mummified bird

GALLERY

2010-01-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

Pith Installations

Addiction Series

Absence of Flight

After Cormac McCarthy's The Road

The Absence of Flight: The Thing with Wings / The Thing with Feathers, 2002-2010

2010-01-15T06:45:00.000-08:00

Grape stems, wax, chicken bones, dresser drawer, picture hanging wire
$400.00
2002-2010

Flock (2009)

2009-06-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

Grapefruit pith, wax, nylon thread, glass beads

6'x3'x2' installation at Artomatic 2009

Anatomy of Addiction

2009-05-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Anatomy of Addiction: Alex and Christopher at home (2009)
White #4 Home Life coffee filters, Cafe Bustelo coffee, nylon thread, LED rope light
36"x30"x5"

$350

Anatomy of Addiction: Anne at work (2009)
White #2 Melita coffee filters, Starbucks coffee, nylon thread, LED rope light
16"x12"x5"

$250

Anatomy of Addiction: Alex at home (2009)
White #2 Giant brand coffee filters, Cafe Bustelo coffee, nylon thread, LED rope light
42"x20"x5"

$350

3 of 5 coffee filter pieces, created for a two person show titled Surfaces, April 5- May 2, 2009 at the new ArtDC space in Hyattsville, MD.

Artist Statement

2009-04-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

I am inspired by the transformative process of massing, which causes recognizable objects to evolve into dynamic sculpture when gathered into patterns. I use this transformation to explore our relationship with the objects we discard, and what our need to discard them says about our relationship with our own mortality.

Although the organic materials I use have been treated for preservation - dried and then dipped in wax or coated in acrylic medium - they are still inherently organic, and are therefor subject to their environment. The 'potential fragility' in my work mirrors our own fragile state, and similarly, I don't know if my work will last for years, decades, or longer.

Coffee Filter pieces

Biography:

Alexandra Zealand is an installation sculptor. Originally trained in theatre design, in 2003 she received an MFA in Sculpture from Pratt Institute. Since moving to Northern Virginia in 2006, her work has been seen at the Target Gallery, Evolve Urban Arts Project in DC, the artdc gallery, ArtSpace Herndon and Artomatic. Her installation “Flock” was named Best of Artomatic 2009 by Art Seen Blog, and her January 2010 exhibit at the Delaplaine was reviewed by the Frederick News-Post. She was invited to install a coffee filter piece at the preview party for the new Arlington County Artisphere in Oct. 2009, and a film strip piece at the closing awards for the 4th annual Alexandria VA Film Festival in Sept. 2010.

Fascinated by mummies, volcanoes, continental drift and zombies, she spends her days doing social media and reference at the Arlington Public Library.

About the Addiction series

2008-12-10T13:17:00.001-08:00

I started working with coffee filters in 2006, after I left one in my studio coffee pot for several weeks. I'd never bothered to keep a coffee filter around before - usually they're kind of gross and slimy after use, and I'd throw them away immediately, in order to make room for a new one. But this time, when I opened up the coffee pot and found the filter completely dried out - with a high-tide mark from where the grounds had rested, and a brown ring around the lip - the contrast between the paper's translucency and the dried grounds sparked something in my imagination. Right then, I saw the image of a mass of filters hanging in my huge, opaque window, lit from behind by the day light.

So as always happens at the start of a new piece, I started collecting. I saved every cone filter I used at home, and even got my co-workers to save them from our pot at work - I gathered size 2s and 4s, as well as bleached and unbleached filters, whatever I could find. It took six months of saving before I had enough filters to build my first piece, and half that time was spent experimenting with various fixatives (to keep the grounds from continuously shedding) and attachment techniques. I finally settled on tacking the filters together with a needle and thread, instead of sewing every edge - the trickiest part of making my work is always the practical aspect, figuring out how to actually build what I've imagined.

At this point, I have created three coffee filter pieces - a small wall-hanging piece, a set of 3 relatively-spherical objects, and a 5' wide wall piece, which was created specifically for Artomatic in 2008.

Addiction, part 3 (2008)

2008-12-09T21:15:00.001-08:00

#2 and #4 coffee filters, coffee grounds, nylong thread, acrylic medium, LED rope light

5'x5'x6"

Sold

About the Addiction series.

Addiction/Infestation, 2008

2008-12-09T21:09:00.001-08:00

#2 and #4 coffee filters, coffee grounds, nylon thread, acrylic medium

24"x26"x26"

$250 - 300 each

About the Addiction series.

The Transformed Book Project

2008-12-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

Cormac McCarthy's The Road, an altered book, 2008
Withdrawn library book, burnt matches
$350

Lisa See's Dragon Bones, an altered book, 2008
Withdrawn library book, resin
10"x15"x2"
$350

After Cormac McCarthy's The Road, 2008

2008-12-09T17:32:00.001-08:00

Matches, acrylic medium
10"x2"
Sold

See Cormac McCarthy's The Road, an altered book

All my friends have addictions (addiction 1), 2007

2008-12-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

#2 and #4 cone coffee filters, coffee grounds, nylon thread, lights
3'x22"x6"

Sold

About the Addiction series.

Absence of Flight 1, 2008

2008-12-09T17:24:00.001-08:00

Grape stems, wax, epoxy, mummified bird
26"x26"x26"
$650

Absence of Flight 2, 2008

2008-12-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

Grape stems, wood cartridge box, mummified bird, nylon string
3'x20"x20"
$750