Scott Troxel

Artist's Statement

I predominately work with wood as my base medium, due to its strength, dimension and organic nature. The inherent texture of wood combined with paint and other man-made materials allow me to explore the concepts of old and young, worn versus new, organic versus man-made and the past versus the present and future. I look to capture a sense of time in my work and often combine the feeling of different eras within a single piece. I see this as a direct parallel with human life, as we too grow older and interact with other generations, both younger and older.

I am also particularly interested in items that were considered technologically or aesthetically advanced, only to be passed on by the consistency and tenacity of time. For example, an airplane boneyard where cutting edge fighter jets from the 60’s sit in forgotten decay. They are still beautiful to look at from a design standpoint, even though these are no longer “modern” in the sense that time and technology has passed them by.

I particularly inspired by mid-century modernism, where wood and organic shapes were combined with other materials to suggest a type of futurism, though now they are considered vintage. Time has passed on but these pieces remain in that context of when they were designed. I want my work feel this way, somewhat nostalgic, aged and organic with the feeling that it could also be from a future time.

My Process
As a purely abstract artist, I explore form, line, color, shape, texture and mass. Since I am usually not relying on a recognizable object in my work, I create through the process itself. I start out with a sketch or design and work through the creative process, hands on. My pieces always take several weeks to finish as I constantly change them, until they just feel right. I really like to give my pieces a feeling of juxtaposition and a balance of opposites, in terms of textures and materials. For example, I will combine a recycled 60 year old cherry table top with a piece of modern manufactured Azek decking. The ideas of young/old, past and future, modern versus outdated, technology, nostalgia and futurism all seem to find a place in my work. I also believe this ties into a distinctly human theme. For example, you can pinpoint a person’s age by the technology they grew up with (Black and white TV, Rotary phone, landlines, etc.).