Artist Statement
As humankind is continually building and restructuring the environment, we are also craving interaction and stability within the natural world. Through design elements, fabrication, and textiles, we constantly seek patterns and forms that are familiar to us and exemplify our deep connection with nature. A vision of trees through a large window frame can evoke that connection and have a calming effect. The focus of our collaborative work as Second State (SS) is to create a space where nature and technology come together as a hybrid.
Using a mix of forms from both artists’ personal styles, Coombs and Patterson intertwine elements from the natural world and the constructed environment and connect them in a unique way. The process is a spontaneous morphing of forms. Passing the work back and forth from state to state at each stage gives each artist a starting point as well as a puzzle to figure out and explore. Ironically, Coombs’ natural imagery of the forest landscape is made at an urban studio in downtown San Francisco, California. Patterson’s urban elements are melded together from her studio in rural Colorado. The balance of opposing forces that are played out in the collaborative SS work hint at this dichotomy of origin.
Over time, the work has evolved into a dynamic visual conversation between two artists in two states, linking two disparate methodologies into one.
Using a mix of forms from both artists’ personal styles, Coombs and Patterson intertwine elements from the natural world and the constructed environment and connect them in a unique way. The process is a spontaneous morphing of forms. Passing the work back and forth from state to state at each stage gives each artist a starting point as well as a puzzle to figure out and explore. Ironically, Coombs’ natural imagery of the forest landscape is made at an urban studio in downtown San Francisco, California. Patterson’s urban elements are melded together from her studio in rural Colorado. The balance of opposing forces that are played out in the collaborative SS work hint at this dichotomy of origin.
Over time, the work has evolved into a dynamic visual conversation between two artists in two states, linking two disparate methodologies into one.