Edge & Plane
In the 1980s, Bruce Beasley experimented with ideas of spatial expansion and reflected light using compilations of flat, multi-sided planes. The Edge and Plane Series came before Beasley’s use of the "drawing" possibilities of 3D modeling, so Beasley arranged and re-arranged planar, geometric models from polygonal flat shapes crafted by hand from cardboard and delicate balsa. Experimental materials like paper and wood were easy to fit together, allowing Beasley to play with infinite mathematical possibilities for side angles and light catching planes. From these studies the artist created large-scale finished works rendered in media like steel that today adorn civic centers and major airports. These impressive, environmentally-scaled sculptures recall geometric puzzles, molecules or the junctures of joints, expressing a sense of extension, motion, even flight.
