b. New Haven, CT 1961
Lives and Works in New York, NY
“I have been working on eggshells since I was 8 years old, learning the traditional Ukrainian art of pysanky from my mother. This artistic and cultic use of eggs informs my work to this day - as I believe that eggs are events - not simply objects. With this background I have explored the art of writing (‘pysanky’ is derived from the verb pysaty – ‘to write’) eggs using the same tools as my ancestors while pushing the bounds of expression through influences that surround my life.
In order to infuse new life into this ancient folk art, I have manipulated traditional processes with innovative dyeing & brush techniques, as well as etching, to forge a new visual language to write on this versatile, organic sphere. The facility of the shell for a range of techniques (batiking, scratching, painting, gilding) affords me a great range of visual expression to manifest ideas, events, and fantasies.
Picking up pieces of broken eggshells and reconstructing them into new images, the work of my studio, seems like an apt metaphor for this moment. This process born out of recycling studio detritus has offered me a new way to construct new worldviews. Bringing forward from the past images, designs, and compositions can visually realign how we see our own world in these times.”
-Paul Wirhun
