Dark Mother

Associated with other found-object artists of the 1950s such as Robert Rauschenberg and Louise Nevelson, Stankiewicz developed his own aesthetic that combined the accumulative potentials of welding with a figurative sensibility permeated by great wit. Born in Philadelphia, Stankiewicz studied with Hans Hofmann at the Art Students League in New York before traveling to Paris in 1950 to study with Fernand Leger and later Ossip Zadline. Upon returning to New York, Stankiewicz began making sculptures by welding together "junk," including scrap metal, tools, machine parts, and household equipment. The sculptor Sidney Geist referred to Stankiewicz's work as "the miracle of the scrap heap." In "Dark Mother," Stankiewicz reveals his humor and sense of the absurd, welding together pieces from a barbecue grill, a bicycle, and various mechanical parts. The title in conjunction with the sculpture itself creates an unexpected association between maternal warmth and the barbecue hood. Stankiewicz's use of found objects was, in part, a reaction to the urban environment of New York where junk endlessly littered the streets. Stankiewicz discovered ways to recycle this rubbish into elegant sculptures, transforming the discarded into compelling works of art. He taught sculpture at State University of New York in Albany and Amherst College.