Joel Fisher (born 1947 in Salem/OH, currently lives in Paris/France) has become known internationally for his biomorphic sculptures made of materials such as bronze, felt, fiber or papier-mâché, and also his drawings, where he uses fibers to form arbitrary traced outlines on his own handmade paper. Often preceding sculptural works, the highly textured paper works with their organic outlines of fibers initiate a process in which their non-referential forms are later translated into sculptural objects.

Being three-dimensional, the sculptures inspire a more corporeal perception and sometimes evoke references to early abstract and organic 20th century sculptures such as those by the German-French sculptor Jean Arp. Both the sculptures and the drawings by Joel Fisher are suggestive in their formal effects as can be seen in Untitled (Drawing No.1), one of three paper works by Fisher in The UBS Art Collection.

“The forms of these works”, as Joel Fisher once described them, ”can be extremely varied in their formal inventiveness and emotional impact. Coming from purely physical origins (it has often been a surprise to the viewer when they realize that they are looking at drawings of tiny imperfections on the surface of the paper), these works are distinguished from normal drawings in two ways: In the drawings here, the model and its depiction are both present in the work (usually, as we know, the depicted is absent either in space or time). Perhaps more significantly, these works are actual links between the physical world and consciousness, or as some have described them, between a material world and a spiritual world. Regardless of the terms, a sense of the link identifies these works.” To see and describe these links can be regarded as an invitation for the viewer, who might interpret Fisher’s open formal language in many different ways.

In recent years, in addition to his sculptures and paper works, Joel Fisher has been creating paintings in which he draws upon his experience as a sculptor.

Reference: Joel Fisher - Text with Forty-one Footnotes, ed. by William Paterson College, Ben Shahn Gallery, 1994.