artist statement
My process transforms found and discarded materials that have outlived their function to create a new entity. I am interested predominantly in fragments of metal or wood I find in the streets, flea markets or thrift shops, which carry a patina of neglect: layers of oxidation, cracked and dented surfaces, holes and tears. My interference with the materials is minimal as I embrace the destroyed nature of the object and use existing openings or cracks as connections, which I fortify with thread, found fabrics, concrete, paper clay and spot welding. I approach each work without a specific vision, instead collecting the objects in my studio, taking time to absorb their composition to let the materials inform me of how they will be assembled. I find value in that which has been deemed worthless by combining disparate objects which have been destroyed by disruption and neglect. Through my time, observation, and repair, these items of loss cohere to arrive at a state of equilibrium.
about
elizabeth velazquez (b. 1962 Bridgeport, CT) is an American artist living and working in New York City. She makes connections with disparate objects that in other ways would never connect, pointing to the fragmentary interconnectedness within ourselves and to others. The new relationship between the objects create a wholeness, openings and closures, suggesting the possibility of a new narrative.
elizabeth velazquez holds a BA in Womens Studies/History from UCLA. She has exhibited her work at New York galleries La Mama, Gallery onetwentyeight, Ceres, Gallery Molly Krom and Salon Zürcher in Paris and New York. Her work is in various collections in the U.S. and abroad.