Ode to the Masters

Christina Currey, Ode to the Masters, 2026. Image courtesy of the artist.

Christina Currey

CHUTESPACE
Opening Thursday 27 August, 2026, 6-8pm
Friday 28 August - Sunday 20 September

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This small sculptural work is an Ionic column carved from balsa wood. Chosen for its light tone and malleability, the material evokes the white marble of Greco-Roman architecture while emphasising process and touch. The work pays homage to the master artisans whose craftsmanship has endured as a source of study and inspiration for millennia.

Using only chisels and files, I shaped the column through a slow, deliberate process, working with the grain rather than against it. By resisting contemporary tools such as dremels, 3D modelling, and laser cutting, the work reasserts the value of time, patience, and skilled handcraft.

Displayed horizontally, the column is displaced from its traditional role as a structural support. This shift invites viewers to consider how traditional craftsmanship is unsettled by emerging technologies and AI, and how ornament has increasingly become an object of display rather than an integral part of enduring architectural structures.