A New England bred wood-sculptor is having her work featured in the main gallery of the Fine Arts Center now through the end of the month. Her gallery “The Space Between” features various pieces from her different collections.
Lin Lisberger has been a wood sculptor for over 40 years. Between selected solo and two person exhibitions, and selected group exhibitions, Lisberger’s work has been featured in dozens of galleries since 1983. She was born in Connecticut, grew up in Ithaca, New York, and now resides in Maine as a mother, wife, teacher and sculptor.
Walking into the gallery you are greeted by a bright blue wall that reads “The Space Between.” A description of her work on the wall details her inspiration for her work. “I am predominantly a wood carver and have been for most of my sculpture career,” reads the sheet on the wall. “Over time my sculptures have echoed many images. My interests have been in expressing peace, growth and the balance between fragility and endurance in humans and nature.”
The first pieces in the gallery are from her collection “Sandwiched.” Her “sandwiches” are comprised of realistic looking bread or taco shells with various designs of wood and metal inside, symbolizing the difficulty or insanity of people’s lives at times.
“Those spaces are difficult to capture because they have strong inward aspects,” Lisberger said, describing the collection in depth on her site, linlisberger.com. “I have strived to create those spaces between in more abstract sculptures, highlighting figure and ground with an attempt to emphasize the vibration between the two.”
Following the sandwich corner is a scattered few pieces from her collections “Vessels” and “Bridges.” One piece is an abstract form of a canoe, along with two canoes that looks more like a real usable boat. Mixed in with these sculptures are works from a collection of sculptures titled “Bridge to a New Me.”
“Bridge to a New Me” is a personal project for Lisberger. The project began after her mother’s death. “I had a startling discovery when I realized how much I had molded myself to her expectations,” she wrote on her website. “In my effort to decide who I really wanted to be I was constantly frustrated by the gap between my intellectual understanding of what changes I wished to make and the actual ability to make those changes. The challenges remain and the bridges are part of the journey.”
The sculptures feature a small staircase up to the “bridge” which is constructed with various obstacles, such as knots, hoops, and tangled wood that block the way. These obstacles represent the milestones and difficulties people have to overcome during their lives.
Lisberger’s work will be on display Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. until March 31 for students to go and see the sculptures that represent “the space between” moments in our lives.
More information and images of Lisberger’s work can be found on her website, linlisberger.com and times and dates for the http://events.uri.edu/event/the_space_between_5133.