Next show to open for June is Tulane’s new head of the sculpture dept, Jer’Lisa Devezin! I had a great time visiting her in her element at the Tulane Metal shop. Crucibles cranes and machines! Concepts constructed in a top notch facility! With her hand in many mediums, clay, bronze, steel and fiber, I look forward to viewing “Aint that Peculiar” a solo exhibition by Jer’Lisa Devezin.

-Adam Farrington

Artists Statement for “Aint that peculiar” by Jer’Lisa Devezin

The integration of sculptural processes, such as welding, weaving, casting, and hand-building, was employed to investigate and play with viscous and transformative materials, including clay, metal, and fibers. I am working through conversations and ideas that engage with the function of materiality in space, form, mass, volume, and abstraction.

This body of work started when I questioned the relationship between politics and art, representation and abstraction, and the act of making. I did not make this work in search of a resolution. Instead, the work led me to questions. How is the work functioning in the space? Can a work be representational and abstract at the same time? Are these materials working? What thoughts and/or questions does the work evoke? Through these questions and/or observations, this body of work is an extension of my thought process in search to answer these questions. The steel works began from curiosity about the commonalities between drawing and sculptural processes. Could I make a drawing with welded steel? These explorations become less about welding a sculpture and more about welding a form that demonstrates the use of line, mark- marking, repetition, and movement. Working in this way unlocked a freedom I had lost in drawing. The same goes for painting. Could I make a painting without using paint? Going back to the act of making, weaving gave me something that clay or steel could not. It gave way to the physical act of working on a flat surface in a way that a painter would approach a canvas. This process removed blockages and challenges that once stood in my way when it came to painting, such as creating physical depth vs. implied depth.
Aside from the process, I am constantly listening to the work. What should I do next? What material should I use? How does it want to be installed? It's a constant collaboration between the physical, the spiritual, and the subconscious.

Ain’t that peculiar