The miniaturized scale allowed the texures and spacial juxtapositions to skew a bit and seemed to alter the depth of field; flattening things out and creating an artificial world-space to escape into. But my interest went deeper than this.

Opening the box of a new model and examining the stamped-out parts, each varying from the other, yet all interconnected via the grid-like support sprue, awakened in me a sense of order. Everything had a place, a purpose.

From the flashy box cover to the pristinely formed shapes inside, a lot more got promised than could be delivered. In fact, once beginning on the assemblage, most of my time was spent in extreme frustration as I clumsily introduced any number of flaws and imperfections to the cleanly fabricated parts.

This state of agitation; the seductive call to interfere with a perceived perfection, immediately followed by the despair of having taken the wrong action in an effort to elaborate on (and inevitably diminish) that perfection, has played a large role in my artmaking.

While I'm invariably compelled by a solidly ordered aesthetic, I often find myself tangentially introducing any number of awkward, unanticipated elements to reconcile moods and impulses before pulling back (rather desperately) toward a more concise expression. This tension is what gives my artwork its vitality.

If you would like a more complete biography and an accompanying CV, or to arrange a visit at my upper Manhattan studio, please email me at timothy@mutzel.org.

Timothy Mutzel
timothy@mutzel.org
105 Arden Street, Apt. 2E
New York, NY 10040