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-51³Ô¹ÏÍø (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 51³Ô¹ÏÍø. 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, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø 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, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø 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, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø 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.
