HOLDINGS
MFA Thesis Exhibition, April 13 - 16, 2022
These are my HOLDINGS, my assets, my tools, my library. They are the objects I HELD while I pierced, filed, sanded, hammered, folded, embossed, carved, and polished them into existence. The act of HOLDING, both physical and emotional is a central theme explored in my work. These boxes HOLD memory, and they HOLD potential. The precious metal objects, inherited traditions, and priceless heirlooms, HOLD equal value to the material fragments, samples, and experiments contained within. Vintage safe deposit boxes contain and display selected HOLDINGS and these assets can be replaced, and reconfigured, revealed or concealed at any moment. New relationships create new meanings and new opportunities. These HOLDINGS are the fruits of my labor and foundation for my future.
photography by Sam Fritch
“As I hold a bronze cast of the cup on the top of a candlestick that once belonged to Sharon Stampfer’s grandmother, I find myself contemplating gaps, weights, and memories. The cast, molded to fit in Stampfer’s own hand, does not exactly fit in mine. Yet, it feels right. The gleaming bronze softly spills over my thumb, belying the heft of the material. At first it is cool, even cold, but quickly acclimates to my body temperature. It momentarily transports me to my own hazy recollections and makes me nostalgic for a memory just out of reach. This is the power of Stampfer’s work. Her objects–made to be handled by the viewer–demand slow engagement and careful consideration of our interactions with each piece; how it looks, how it feels, (imagining) how it was used in the past, and perhaps most crucially, how its future use will be altered by our interaction with it."
Many of Stampfer’s works begin as experiments in either form or material. These improvisations are carefully documented and saved, forming an archival web of ideas and connections. Stampfer’s experiments are like seeds; each one may not grow into a fully formed work, but they all have a generative capacity. Her careful attention to everyday items points to the ritual aspect of our use of these objects, highlighting the ability for the seemingly mundane, such as a door handle or bowl, to serve as points of human connection. For Stampfer, this connection is cyclical. It begins with the artistic process of touch; the artist’s labor imbues the work with knowledge and feeling, which can then be imparted through our own visual and physical contacts. These interactions, between the artist and object and the viewer/user and object, are intensely personal, richly collective, and always in flux.”
-Nicole Emser Marcel