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<< Return to list of essays and reviews
"...he has become one of the most accomplished sculptors in this region." The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 10, 1995 Taking sculpture in unexpected direction By Edward J. Sozanski, Inquirer Art Critic Fritz Dietel's sculpture has always displayed a consistent dedication to process. The viewer can't help but marvel at the way he coaxes wood into improbable configurations by bending, laminating and steaming. Yet while these processes and the labor they entail is always evident, it's the forms themselves that command the viewer's attention. In his show of new work at Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Dietel moves in unexpected directions. A large globular shape woven of white oak slats, open at the bottom and dyed yellow-green, resembles a huge ball of yarn -- not exactly what we have come to expect from this artist. On an adjoining wall is Helix, another piece that presents a novel form, but one tied more closely to Dietel's earlier work. It begins with a flat, spade-like slab, then projects into space as an elongated corkscrew that terminates in a delicate point. Contrast this with two heavy, shield-shaed pieces that resemble beetle carapaces. Despite lattice-like inserts in the center, these pieces project a feeling of mass and strength -- again, qualities less characteristic of earlier work. Fish's Web is exactly the opposite, a teardrop-shaped network of wood that wraps into itself. It's a three-dimensional drawing that defines a volume of ambiguous negative space. In the wall piece called Swift, Dietel combines several virtuoso effects -- an elongation to a point, folded-over top and a complex pattern of ridges achieved through lamination. Swift demonstrates how absolute command of a medium can translate into stunning visual effects. When I saw the announcement for this show, I thought for a moment that Dietel had gone off on a tangent. But the show indicates that he's merely inventing new extrapolations of his basic vocabulary. It also confirms that he has become one of the most accomplished sculptors in this region. Schmidt/Dean
Gallery
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