Imagine an archeological dig. As layer upon layer of detritus and dirt are slowly and painstakingly removed, a mysterious shape begins to emerge. Is it skeletal, structural or symbolic? This discovery awakens the archeologist in all of us as the curiosity inherent in our species is confronted with a linkage from the past. Or is it a linkage to the future? Robert Mirek is that digger at work. The explorer. Experimenter. His unearthing of new shapes and symbols begins with corrugated cardboard. Shaped. Assembled. Neatly looped and fused into maquettes. Each maquette gives way to a Ligature in which materials are bonded together. The final structure has an earthy patina as if buried for centuries or eons, locked or frozen into our collective unconscious. What exactly is the purpose of Mirek’s archeological quest? The Ligature Series takes us on his journey as he explores connections with his past œuvre as well as this new work. Each piece is locked together. Each piece invokes, or perhaps provokes, a symbolic shape and meaning. We are invited to explore the work laid bare.

Christopher Merlo
November, 2013