Oscar Tuazon

Oscar Tuazon’s large-scale sculptures utilize a wide range of skilled construction methods in their fabrication, and an array of raw materials that frequently includes concrete, glass, steel, and industrial piping. He has noted a particular interest in engaging with wood as a “living material” saying that it “is in a state of continuous becoming: changing from seed, to plant, to tree, to log, to board, to frame, to building, to pulp, to paper, to ash, to dirt, and back again.” His sculptures have roots in minimalism, conceptualism, and the architectonic art movement of the 1970s. Often his works bear a direct relationship with both the site itself, as well as with the lives and routines common to those who may utilize the area around the site. 

Recycled River, is part of a series of interactive sculptures made of industrial stormwater piping that marries nature, structure, and infrastructure in a form that embodies the core purpose of public space. Reliant on the physical engagement of viewers to be fully realized, the sculpture leverages its power to playfully enliven its environs. 

Recent exhibitions of Tuazon’s work include those at the Aspen Art Museum, Aspen; the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, East Lansing; and the third edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial.