"CW ROELLE" for Artscope Magazine (July/Aug 2009)

CW Roelle
"Not Only Women In White Dresses"

AS220 Project Space
July 8 - 27, 2009
Providence, Rhode Island

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By Meredith Cutler (for Artscope Magazine)

Article Excerpt:

Arguably one of the most prolific and talented draftsmen in Providence, CW Roelle sports a callus in the center of his palm the size of a quarter. With a fluid facility for depicting everyday objects and structures through a patient, continuous line, Roelle deftly interweaves the mundane with invented characters and complex environments using only dark annealed steel wire and a pair of sturdy pliers. The callus is a hazard of the trade.

"I was doing a lot of pencil line drawings, and I wanted to reach in, grab that line and just bend it with my hands – I figured the best way to bend line with my hands was with wire."

Roelle draws in space, forgoing paper and pencil for a system of twists, hooks and the occasional change of gauge to achieve dazzling effects of depth and shade. Defending the claim that he is "not a sculptor," Roelle realizes his work wherever possible without the solid crutch of welding, with the exception of the most structurally spare foundations required to support his larger scale pieces.

Never referencing sketches, Roelle turns to photographs and live models as his primary source materials, combining elements from several origins to create one figure. The pleats and folds of clothing, interior environments complete with décor, and embellished frames to contain each composition are delicately rendered. Facial expressions in his figurative work remain ambiguous.

"Wire dulls expression," explains Roelle, whose go-to inspiration book is a well-thumbed vintage volume titled "A Pictorial History of the Silent Screen." In addition to the rich period costumes and interiors of silent film, Roelle appreciates that facial expressions "are so much better…so much sharper" in the still frames documenting this groundbreaking medium.

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Image: CW Roelle, "How To Read The Paper", 2009, 22" x 36" x 3", painted steel wire.

(Author's Note: The show's title was changed after the writing of this article to "Not Just Women In White Dresses," a play on art market insiders' knowledge of "what sells").

 

"CW ROELLE" for Artscope Magazine (July/Aug 2009)