Phyllis Rosser

Phyllis Rosser White/Grey Sails
Phyllis Rosser Fully Forth Emerging
Phyllis Rosser Sea Strands
Phyllis Rosser Grey Gulls
Phyllis Rosser Sea Lyre

Artworks 

Phyllis Rosser Grey Gulls 2003
Phyllis Rosser Sea Lyre 2019

Phyllis Rosser

Grey Gulls

2003

wood

12 x 8 x 3 in

$200

Phyllis Rosser

Sea Lyre

2019

wood

22 x 11 x 5 in

$250

Phyllis Rosser Sea Strands 2015
Phyllis Rosser Fully Forth Emerging  2023

Phyllis Rosser

Sea Strands

2015

wood

11 x 7 x 3 in

$200

Phyllis Rosser

Fully Forth Emerging 

2023

wood

23 x 17 x 7 in

$300

Phyllis Rosser White/Grey Sails  2020
phyllis-rosser_tree-peony

Phyllis Rosser

White/Grey Sails 

2020

Wood  

17 x 11 x 5in

Sold

Phyllis Rosser

Tree Peony

2014

Pigment ink print on Hanhnemuhls photo rag paper

9.5 x 9.5 in

$400

Purchase
Phyllis Rosser Ocean Bell
Phyllis Rosser Passion Flower 2019

Phyllis Rosser

Ocean Bell

2011

Wood

12 x 7 x 4 in

Sold

Phyllis Rosser

Passion Flower

2019

Archival pigment print on Canson photo rag paper

13.25 x 18 in

$400

Phyllis Rosser

American, b. 1934 Rochester, NY, based in New York, NY



Artist’s Statement on NATURE’S DECONSTRUCTION


“Nature is continually breaking down and reconstructing our environment.  Many years 

ago I became fascinated with the beauty of tree limbs and branches as they disintegrate through the actions of water and sun.  The energy of the wood - its muted colors and infinite patterns of graining as well as its broken forms have a power for me, suggesting something that endures even as a tree completes its life cycle.

          I began collecting wood that washed up on the beaches near my home before finding the endless supply of river wood below the dam in Bellows Falls.  My work represents a struggle for sensuousness by transforming and revaluing a material often considered refuse into objects that are appealing and alive.  Using this wood, stripped bare of its bark and washed smooth by the Connecticut River, I construct dynamic sculptures that mirror natural compositions in the environment.  At times I even attempt to imitate the chaos of wood limbs thrown onto the river’s banks.  In assembling the branches I create a subtle play of color in shades of rust, hazel, silver and charcoal.  They present not only the enduring aspect of nature but the unique beauty expressed through its vulnerability to the ravages of time.  

          In most of my work, the wood is left in its natural state.  Occasionally a piece is painted in vibrant colors to make the lyrical patterns of its construction more explicit.  I use phrases from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass for titles to express my exuberance and passion for the natural world. ”

-Phyllis Rosser



Artist’s Statement on Making Sculpture with Bellows Falls Wood


    I discovered an endless collection of river-washed wood in a bend of the Connecticut River near the Railroad Station about 25 years ago.  My friend, Robert McBride, who lives across the street from the site had been using if for his sculpture and encouraged me to take a look.  I finally followed his advice and was overwhelmed by the amount of wood available.  I was also impressed by the random way it piled up on the rocks after flowing over the dam.  This pattern created by water power has greatly influenced the way I use the wood in my work, trying to recreate, in a more organized fashion, the chaotic energy of wood limbs and stumps thrown onto the river bank.

          I began my assemblages of found wood 30 years ago, using large pieces of driftwood that I found on the Jersey shore beaches where I lived.  Later I bought cedar pieces from landscape design suppliers and partially painted them to overcome the monotony of their uniformly gray color.  The Bellows Falls wood gave me a new palette.  It came in many colors: silvery grays, charcoal, golden tans and dark brown.   I no longer felt the need to paint the wood.  It had been stripped bare of its bark by the water and had a sensuous smoothness.  I also found it had been ”cured” by its months behind the dam so that it was free of bugs.  For the past 20 years I left the wood in its natural state, adding no oil or wax but recently I returned to painting it as well.  I look forward each spring to the new “crop” that comes over the dam with a fresh supply of sculptural shapes.  

Phyllis Rosser  



Biography


Phyllis Rosser constructs sculptures made of wood found along the shores of the Connecticut River.  Rosser’s compositions reflect the natural way the wood is found, honed to its essence by water and time.  


The artist finds inspiration in the material itself, revealing a subtle play of texture and color in shades of rust, hazel, silver and charcoal.  The intertwining pieces of each work show a struggle between sensuality and strength.  Rosser is drawn to the vulnerability in the decay of nature and its enduring ability to transform and create new life.     

Artists

Mindy Fisher
Whitney Barrett
Nancy Fitz-Rapalje
Len Emery
Penelope Arms
Robert Burch
Clare Adams
Judi Forman
Yevette Hendler
Judy Hawkins
Corinne Greenhalgh
Spaulding Dunbar
Medora Hebert
Kathy Lavine
Carol Keiser
Jeanne McMahan
Caroline Ryan Morgan
Marcie Maynard
Kathie Gatto-Gurney
Matthew Saxton
Nicholas Kekic
Deedee Jones
Kim Grall
Melissa Rubin
MC Noyes
Kathleen Zimmerman
Maurine Sutter
John Van der Does
Phyllis Rosser
Lisa Eckhardt McNealus
Charles W. Norris-Brown

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23 Canal Street, Bellows Falls, Vermont

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