Dallas Guffey
Sculpture & Post-Studio Practice
Dallas Guffey earned his BFA in Studio Art from the University of Northern Iowa (2017) and is a current MFA candidate in Studio Practices at the University of Colorado-ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ (Sculpture Post-Studio, 2021). He has exhibited at Moberg Gallery in Des Moines Iowa, Main Street Cedar Falls Iowa, Chicago Sculpture Exhibition 2020, and locally around ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ. He has artworks in the collections of the University of Northern Iowa, UnityPoint Health, and Iowa Falls Public Art.
Statement:
This series of work experiments with the partition as public sculpture. They blur the lines of public art and public safety measures while acting as a symbol of the pandemic. INSTALLMENTS implements outdoor space as the location for art installation and uses a form and material that has become commonplace during the pandemic. These plexiglass partitions are not the solution to this new normal; instead, they reinforce existing barriers that dually perform security theater and symbolize the fear of contamination.
Thesis Artwork
Plexi Partition: Green Bench at Greenleaf Park, ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ CO, 2020
Shaped Plexiglass, metal brackets, and hardware.
A Plexiglass partition designed and previously installed for a week on a bench in Greenleaf Park. It is now displayed separately from its intended environment, highlighting the marks of its time in public space.
Plexi Partition: Picnic Table Along Goose Creek Trail, ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ CO, 2021
Shaped Plexiglass, metal brackets, and hardware.
A large plexiglass partition designed and previously installed on a picnic table along Goose Creek Trail. The sculpture divides the table into four spaces connected through arched gateways. It references the partitions used in most retail spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as pre-pandemic structures such as banks and bodegas.
Plexi Partition: Green Bench at Greenleaf Park, ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ CO, 2020
Shaped Plexiglass, metal brackets, and hardware.
A Plexiglass partition designed and previously installed for a week on a bench in Greenleaf Park. It is now displayed separately from its intended environment, highlighting the marks of its time in public space.
