LEAFs is on display at NCAR Gallery 1 in Boulder, Colorado, August 31 through September 26

-2009

ARTIST STATEMENT

LEAFs: the LEAFs project is an 18-month body of work begun in the fall of 2007.

      Sometimes we are just going about our business when we cross through a different body of space; similar to passing through a draft of cool air or a wave of warm water, but more magical.  This has happened a few times in my recent past, I am not sure what promotes this, but inevitably I experience a life shift.
     In the fall of 2007 I crossed into such a body of space, it was populated by leafs: exquisitely colored and textured, they were piled in gutters, racing across yards, hanging by a thread, and sailing airborne in playful whirls.  I collected pockets full and ran back to the studio to examine my treasures.  Caught in this different body of space, I didn’t have a plan for the leaves, but eventually I began to feel that all material used should be reclaimed and/or organic, and, as I glued leaves to reclaimed boards, I contemplated the leaf as a perfect closed-loop energy producing system.  This led to science where I chased leaf’s role to the beginning of an oxygenated planet and I kept going to look at the origins of the universe itself.  The project’s vocabulary ultimately included the scientific formula for photosynthesis, a black density representing all matter pre-‘big bang’, and a witness in the form of human eyes.
     I worked with the leaves over 18 months: LEAFs 1 were produced from leaves collected in fall of 2007, LEAFs 2 were produced from leaves collected in fall of 2008, together they comprise 37 assemblages made on various sized reclaimed boards using leafs, natural clay paint, graphite, and fragments of text and sketches found in my studio, each completed board is sealed with a touchable beeswax finish.
     These boards are the first artifactual pieces I have made that were not part of a direct architectural exploration.  What began as an almost accidental infatuation with the leaves of fall, ended up taking me on a journey of undeniable evidence that the mysteries of life are only mysteries if we remain in our usual body of space. 

BIO:
mlRobles, NCARB Architect LEED AP

ml Robles is an architect with a long history of making 2-d and 3-d artifacts to explore and understand the environments she builds.  An interest in examining these artifacts outside of the architectural process led her to installations and exhibitions.  She has participate in 6 juried exhibitions, 2 invited exhibitions, and has curated and participated in 4 additional exhibitions.  She holds a Master of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI Arc), a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arizona College of Architecture, and has taught design studio at the University of Colorado College of Architecture and Planning. 

ml Robles
boulder, colorado
9 july, 2009

**All art work is for sale, if you are interested please phone 303 443 1945 to see the full portfolio.