
AMERICAN STEEL
JOHN BISBEE
CENTER FOR MAINE CONTEMPORARY ART
June 30 - October 14, 2018
Throughout my thirty years of abstract humming, the nail never failed me. Anchored only by its form and materiality, I revelled in the nail’s infinite possibilities. However, further erosion in our governments already limited empathy has demanded that I move from the realm of pure abstraction to one of allegorical realism. I am now compelled to create with a new voice, one that summons the utilitarian associations of the nail with new vigor and responds to the world outside of myself, pointedly and with humor. American Steel is an aggressive spectacle; my patriotic and poetic reexamination of America.
- JOHN BISBEE, 2018

Bouquet (This Arrangement No Longer Works For Us)
TRUMPENCE
Trumpet Text (wall), The Trumpet (right)
The Trumpet (detail)
The Trumpet (left), American Bits (wall)
American Bits
American Bits (detail)
OZYMANDIAS
Viper and Pillars
Viper and Pillars (detail)
Fruit of my Roots
Fruit of my Roots (detail)
DREAM ON
Dream On (wall installation)
Dream On (details)
Stanchions (Departing Embrace)
Migration Case (detail)
American Bits (detail)
Migration Case
AMERICAN STEEL
American Steel (installation)
Bouquet (This Arrangement No Longer Works For Us)
Putin (Bear Witness To This Circus Dance)
Tubboat
Tubboat (detail)
Bucket, Chain, Stanchions (Standing and Falling), Oysters, Lock, Swords, Pistols, Grackles, Bracelets, Pliers, Coins
Stool with Pliers, Clamp, and Coins
Iron with Chains
Grackle with Pistol
Pliers with Chain, Lock with Chain
Anvil
Hammer with Chain
Oyster with Arrow
Photography by Andrew Estey
Design by Maeve O'Regan