The Odyssey, 2016
Stainless steel sheets, tubes and pipes
May 3, 2016 – August 1, 2016
Odyssey is an 8-foot tall stainless steel isosceles pyramid that will portray the concept and importance of elevation.
The pyramid shape includes the installation as part of a historical network of powerful structures that are geographically aligned and acts as a connection between the influence of Marcus Garvey in Harlem and the distant histories of antiquated times.
The inspiration of the structure comes from the achievements of Marcus Garvey and the ability he had to raise public consciousness around critical societal issues. Pyramids all over the world are built as markers of key geographic locations where there are significant positive energy fields. Pyramid sites are mathematically connected based on the geodesic alignments of the specific longitude and latitude. Pyramids have a historical significance to place and almost take on a life of their own. “Odyssey” is intended to speak to all social participants and presents a message that it is possible to overcome challenges. Odyssey represents the importance of personal advancement.
BIO
Stan Squirewell was born and raised in Washington, DC and currently lives in New York City. His artistic training began at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Washington, DC, in 1993. Since graduation (1996), he continued his tutelage under many of DC’s master artists, including Michael Platt and Lou Stovall. In 2007, Squirewell graduated with a MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Hoffberger School of Painting; there he studied with the late, Grace Hartigan. As a painter, photographer and installation and performance artist, his work is multilayered and tackles themes such as race and memory through mythology, sacred geometry and science. Squirewell is the first winner of the Rush Philanthropic and Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series. He has performed with Nick Cave (SoundSuits) at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC and Jefferson Pinder at G-Fine Arts, Washington, DC. His work is in private and public collections, including the Reginald Lewis Museum, Baltimore, MD; the Robert Steele Collection, College Park, MD and the Smithsonian’s African American Museum (2015).
