Structurally Sound: Nicole Poole and Eric Ryberg
Clamp Light Artist Studios and Gallery is proud to present Structurally Sound, an exhibition featuring the work of Nicole Poole and Eric Ryberg.
Meticulously drafted, the works of San Antonio artists Nicole Poole and Eric Ryberg are as much a study of restraint as they are a study of structure, support, and the aestheticizing of functional forms. Drawing from their experiences with relocation, memory, and physical states of the human body, their work will explore the relationship between the functionality of structural forms and emotion. Structurally Sound will also integrate work that focuses on structures and their role in the display of art, shining light on their essential function in the role of an art practice that often remains “invisible” to the viewer. The artists are San Antonio transplants, hailing from Michigan and New York. The work in the exhibition speaks to their experiences of being uprooted, as well as their attempts to establish a life in a new location. Both artists share an interest in a formal aesthetic, a play with language and a strict observation of the functionality and aesthetic value of traditional support structures.
about the artists
Nicole Poole is an artist and creative professional currently working in San Antonio, Texas. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Poole earned a B.B.A. in Marketing and Communication from Eastern Michigan University before relocating to San Antonio in 2008. In 2018 she earned a B.F.A. and B.A. in Art History and Criticism from UTSA. During her time at UTSA, she was a recipient of the Mellon Humanities Pathways Fellowship, the Elton Smith Memorial Endowed Scholarship in Art, and the Gloria Galt Endowed Scholarship in Art. She is the founder and director of the Screaming Goat Gallery located at UTSA in the Department of Art and Art History. Her mission is to provide a professional development opportunity for current BFA, BA and MFA candidates at UTSA as well as showcase their work. Poole has been exhibiting her work since 2015 in juried, invitational, and solo exhibitions, and has been a resident artist at Clamp Light Studios and Gallery in San Antonio, Texas since 2018.
Pushing the boundary between painting and sculpture, Poole creates a metaphorical link between the physicality of support structures – be they architectural, emotional, or a physical aspect of the female form – with specific states of existence and human emotion. Relying heavily on material meaning and the process in which her objects are made. Her work is autobiographical in nature, exploring themes of memory, family histories, motherhood, and the passage of time, and is facilitated by an exploration of painting, sculpture, and installation.
Eric Ryberg is an artist based in San Antonio, Texas. Ryberg grew up in Western New York and earned his BFA in Sculpture from the State University of New York at Fredonia in 2016. Moving to Texas in 2017, he now studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio where he is pursuing an MFA in Sculpture. Ryberg’s work takes the form of sculpture, drawing, and site-specific installations. His artwork explores ideas of the “home” and memory through the use of architectural floor plans that depict the spaces he has called home. Beginning as a manifestation of longing for a “home,” Ryberg is interested in examining the notion of a “home” as a permanent structure that encompasses a life.
In a new body of work, Ryberg explores the aestheticizing of tools, specifically those commonly used for the display of art. As a detail-oriented, formal artist, Ryberg seeks to create work that allows audiences to take the time to observe, experience, examine, and appreciate such tools that are often ignored or taken for granted.