Unique, oil on resin. 3 x 10 x 3 inches.
Some background on how I created the Cuffed series. I modeled a small hand in clay inspired by the hands in Parmigianino’s 1530 painting, Madonna of the Rose. After making a mold of the refined plaster version, I cast the hand numerous times in wax and modeled various wax “cuffs” onto the hands, and then they were cast in bronze. I also cast hands in resin and modeled different “cuffs” onto them using cast resin forms and Apoxie clay. Then I painted them with either oil paint or acrylic gouache (after a trillion hours of sanding and filing). The hand remains the same in this series, a stand-in for the self. The positions and “cuffs” change, and the hand is usually in a gesture of letting go or receiving.
There is an extra-small bronze hand sculpture in this shop at https://shop.lesliefry.com/collections/small-sculptures/products/cuffed, the rest of the bronzes may be seen on my website at https://www.lesliefry.com/sculpture/bronze/
Shown here is my cut-out from a photocopy of the painting, which I placed in this mossy crevice to create Touch at https://shop.lesliefry.com/.../vermont-life/products/touch. Another example of 2D work inspired by the same Parmigianino hands: https://shop.lesliefry.com/collections/painting-drawing-collage/products/lap
Hands have been a focus in my two-dimensional work and sculpture for years. My hands reach, touch, and shape. Hands let go and receive; they try to hold things and to hold things together.
