CARL RATTNER

ARTIST BIO

Carl Rattner grew up on Long Island and majored in studio art and art history at Grinnell College. His graduate work at Cranbrook Academy of Art and New York University, focused on clay as an expressive medium.  In the 1990’s he transitioned from working in clay to working in wood.

Carl has exhibited widely in the metropolitan New York area and has received public and private commissions. His work has been favorably mentioned and/or reviewed by a number of publications, including the New York Times.

He is a retired art professor and maintains his studio in Rockland County, NewYork.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My medium is wood.

I am enamored with its qualities - its colors,  grains and textures - and forever challenged by the sculptural possibilities of carving and fabrication.   I also like to experiment with combinations of wood and other media, most recently acrylic.     

My work is form driven and often about  “soft”  and  “hard”  juxtaposed shapes.  The forms that emerge have intriguing metaphorical connotations.   Some reflect thoughts about our threatened environment (see: Child and What We Eat).   Others reflect on human disconnect in a technological world . (see Morph and Untitled Poplar).

In general,  “HARD”    seems to signify what is rational,  controlled  and active,  whereas  “SOFT”   seems  more about what is emotional,  spontaneous,  passive and vulnerable.

The “soft”  shapes, are informed by my earlier work in clay and an ongoing fascination with biomorphic form.  These shapes evolve naturally when carving.  

The "hard"  architectonic shapes are the result of fabrication techniques.