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Broken Worlds -
June Ahrens' work addresses issues of loss, pain, fragility, danger and survival. Her work is obsessive in spirit, and uses reclaimed or re-purposed everyday objects. In her latest series she uses broken acrylic mirrors, broken jars and bottles. Many of the jars have been collected from friends and family and create another layer of interaction between the participants and the artist. Special lighting also plays a specific role in the work. The installations and individual pieces allow the viewer to become part of the sculpture as light throws reflections back and the person can see both viewers and their surroundings. The pieces create formal and conceptual tensions between absence and presence, certainty and doubt. The jar/bottle pieces were broken and re-created to make new shapes and forms. Their gestures take on an anthropomorphic quality with an added sense of reality. The shadows cast by these forms add another dimension to the installations and provide a way to integrate form and concept, going beyond language, exposing conditions, which are not always obvious but are always present. |
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HIDING IN PLAIN SITE |
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Photos: Bruce Matthews
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If this video is not visible, please click here to view |
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STILL STANDING* |
 STILL STANDING reclaimed jars, glass, aluminum 2'W x 6'L x 30"H  STILL STANDING Detail |
 STILL STANDING Detail |
| Photos: Bruce Matthews Collection of Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO |
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SPILLED MILK |
 SPILLED MILK reclaimed jars, paint, glass, steel 5'2"W x 330"L |
 SPILLED MILK Detail |
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| Photos: Donna Callighan | |
LEFT OVER |
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 LEFT OVER Detail |
 LEFT OVER Detail |
| Photos: Donna Callighan | |
the TEA party |
 the TEA party 64" x 24" x 29" Ceramic, glass and steel Tea cups and tea pot sizes vary |
 the TEA party Detail |
 the TEA party Detail |
 the TEA party Detail |
 the TEA party Detail |
 the TEA party Detail |
PASSAGE |
PIECE BY PEACE |
HIGHS AND LOWS |
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DEAD ON |
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 DEAD ON Detail |
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SEARCH |
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 SEARCH Detail |
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In Depth |
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BORDER |
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Our Shrinking World |
Our Shrinking World - Normally my work is created for an interior space; however when the opportunity at Chesterwood Sculpture Park presented itself I decided to take up the challenge and create my first outdoor piece,”Our Shrinking World” . My sculpture reflects the contrast between “The American Dream”, and today’s economic crises. Although small in scale, its message is monumental in scope. The surface of the broken acrylic mirror will reflect the beauty of the park, but also challenge the viewer’s state of security and high light the vulnerability that all of us may feel.
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Review: “...June Ahrens built a small house out of mirror shards and set it in the forest. The piece, “Our Shrinking World,’’ is almost invisible from a distance, camouflaged by reflection, and even up close it shimmers with leaves. But despite its beauty, its construction speaks of illusion, sharp edges, and danger.” Cate McQuaid , Boston Globe This work traveled from the Chesterwood Sculpture Park to the Bershire Museum, Pittsfleld, MA for two years.
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Mourn |
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© June Ahrens all rights reserved 2009
