"Gwen Bigham’s artistic repertoire is as eclectic as it is vast. Her interest lies in exploring the role of women in society. Dualities, between external appearances and internal realities, serve as the thematic thread that unifies her work. She juxtaposes utilitarian materials in unlikely ways to create uncommonly beautiful sculpture. In these works from the Life Portrait Series, chairs, corsage pins, and nylon are her materials of choice.
For Bigham, art serves as a medium to test theories, a conduit for self-expression. In both Headrest and Ornament, she employs corsage pins as a dual metaphor for the tears of emotion humans shed and the pearls of wisdom they share. Piercing and pleasing, these pins illustrate how surface beauty often conceals pain and sacrifice."
Melissa G. Post, curator, Mint Museum of Craft + Design, c2005
Cellophane tape, corsage pins, 15" x 16" x 15”, 2004
