Caley Buck

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Artwork title: Tangerine
oil, oil pastel, and colored pencil on canvas | 40 x 30 inches

Tell us about the work that you have submitted.
Tangerine revisits my undergrad entrance portfolio one year later, exemplifying the growth of my practice since then. Caryatids explore imagery of strong women, literally (each is a stone sculpture). Irregular brushstrokes take a contemporary hammer to the immaculate marbles sculpted by the likes of Rodin and Cordier.

How do you describe your work and practice?
My practice embraces a more eclectic approach, at times teetering on the edge of craft. I frequently use media such as mirrored glass, carved wood and shag rugs. This may lie with my tendencies towards maximalism, the conglomerate result of both my kitschy attitudes and acquiescence to Horror Vacui.

What motivated you to apply to the AXA Art Prize?
Exposure. Both to such esteemed jurors as well as from the nature of a traveling exhibition. Additionally, I solely work figuratively, so that was awfully convenient.

What themes regularly resurface?
Recently: language, wordplay, me being a fool and trying to deny it, the sincerity of art, etc. I’ve begun two series of delusionally didactic works. One proposes that the word “several” means precisely “seven” as opposed to the widely upheld, imprecise “many”; the other that “Stephen” should always be spelled “Steven.”

www.caleybuck.com
Instagram | @caleybuck