Artist’s Statement:
Concrete appeals to me on so many different levels – it has an ancient history, it is of the earth, and it is strong and enduring. Because concrete has no intrinsic form, it is also an incredibly versatile medium. By its very nature concrete embodies the transformative experience: mud becomes solid as stone. It is hard and calm. It is cool to the touch – I love that!
My work is largely about transformation. I believe that there is the potential for great beauty in change. My intent is to capture that edge of transformation and the liminal space between what is and what is yet to be. In that moment, all things are still possible, including great beauty and wonder and joy.
With my recent work, I continue to explore the concept of transformation and more deeply examine the path of surrender, change and a graceful evolution. Everything changes. At every level. All the time. Our response to these changes reverberates within ourselves and within our communities.
I am very fortunate to have traveled to some amazing places and to live in an incredible part of the world surrounded by an intense natural beauty. In this curved universe there is constant play and creative tension – a ceaseless becoming.
I am particularly inspired by Isamu Noguchi for his profound commitment to simplicity and the poetic suggestiveness of his forms as well as for his playfulness and the fact that he was able to bring modern sculpture into the realm of everyday life. I am also inspired by Henry Moore, because I share with him a love of time worn bones and stones and bits of driftwood as well as a strong heart connection to the landscape of home.
“I first met Birgit Piskor at the Moss Street Paint-In in Victoria a few years ago and was immediately taken by her beautiful organic sculptures and her warm and captivating persona. I commissioned her to sculpt two amazing pieces for my home which are presently gracing two feature walls. She captured my vision by creating two sensuous textural forms with strong feminine elements that I admire and love every day. Her works exemplify strength, beauty and fluidity. I feel truly blessed to have met her and to have acquired two of her pieces.”
Lise Kent
Two artists who I am particularly inspired by are Isamu Noguchi and Henry Moore.
Noguchi for his profound commitment to simplicity and the poetic suggestiveness of his forms as well as for his playfulness and the fact that he was able to bring modern sculpture into the realm of everyday life. Moore, because I share with him a love of time worn bones and stones and bits of driftwood as well as a strong heart connection to the landscape of home.
The Process:
Each of my sculptures is hand built on a steel armature layered with small hand mixed batches of a modified concrete. This formula affords me creative control while ensuring the maximum strength and durability of my work.
A certain intimacy and honesty gradually emerges by hand building each piece: displaying the marks of the maker, the soul of the work, and the final form.
The process becomes like a beautiful dance that constantly challenges the notion of what concrete can become.