Wlodarczyk, Dan -A Verdigris Landscape

Story of the Box

Growing up in Chicago in an Eastern European enclave, I was used to seeing the blue green domes and church steeples of the various churches in the neighborhood. I never knew that there was a word for the spectrum of powdery blues, greens, and aged copper color, but I always loved how they looked and how they changed in the rain and with different sunlight. Verdigris is the colors of the aged patina of copper or brass.  For my box I worked with copper sheets and pipe and sped up the aging process by using vinegar, salt and some household ammonia. The process was trial and error with an emphasis on error. Time, temperature and humidity all played a role.

My box is titled “a verdigris landscape”, it has some trees and a few birds. I like to place birds in the box as an acknowledgment of Joseph Cornell who often placed birds in his boxes. I am not drawing a comparison, just a mutual appreciation of birds in the box. The panels evoke a landscape with a forest and sky for me. A pleasant diversion from the pandemic.

Dan Wlodarczyk

Gallery Rte 1

Point Reyes Station, CA

7/2021