“Wheels” Maxwell Kramer 2022
Ø 30”,45”,50”, 36”
Plywood, galvanized steel wire, latex paint
I feel a tremendous sense of pride in my knowledge of bicycle wheels. The wheels of a bike are often overlooked as a singular object. But they are in fact composed of up to 100 individual pieces. The assembly, repair, and maintenance of bicycle wheels has been a significant part of my professional career and has contributed to my sense of personal identity. When I was asked to create a large-scale work of art for a group show in December 2019, I sought to identify the considerations and aptitudes required for wheel building, and apply them to a visual expression. At that time, I designed and assembled “Wheel”.
In the fall of 2021 I was asked to create a solo exhibition to mark the completion of a bachelor's degree. In my endeavor to create a collection of visual artworks, I chose to take my design for “Wheel” and manipulate the elements of scale, color and material thickness while maintaining the original patterns and forms of the first piece.
“Helix” Maxwell Kramer 2021
60”x36”
Plywood, galvanized steel wire, latex paint
The helix us a form which has inspired my dimensional works from as early as 2017 when I created a series of handheld sculptures for display at “rtwalk” events which I organized in collaboration with a local business. My earliest helical concepts can be viewed on Instagram @pranawand
The helix form is the most basic building block of human cells. Microscopic DNA contains tremendous quantities of information. This large scale ode to the helix form is an effort to express the information which is held in my hands.
“Ladders” Maxwell Kramer 2021
8’x4’
Cut 2x4 , galvanized steel wire, latex paint
In February 2020 I was still enrolled at the Art Students League of New York as a full time student. I had been granted a scholarship as a studio monitor in a mixed media class under the supervision of Bruce Dorfman and Amanda Leung.
At the beginning of March 2020 when the Covid-19 lockdown began, I fled upper Manhattan and returned to my parents’ home on long island. At that time I continued the work which I had begun in art school, in my parents garage.
“Ladders” is an extrapolation of the same methods I used to create “Wheel” and other sculptures in 2019. I built this piece during the time when nobody knew what was going on in the world.
