Dust to Dust presents Untranslated, a solo exhibition from Heidi Schwegler. Untranslatedis a continuation of Schwegler's recent exhibition On Gurgling at William Benington Gallery in London. The works are threaded together by an oral anxiety. Flies, over-chewed gum, and crooked teeth are layered with references to choking, nausea, and orthodontic surgery.
Heidi Schwegler repurposes or transforms discarded, abused, or irreverent everyday objects into meticulously crafted artworks. This transformation from common materials like plastic, concrete, fiber, and bone into glass, precious metal, or wax subverts or elevates the original object and often emphasizes the absurdity and the use or misuse of the object. In her work the boundary between anxiety and humor is blurs, like nervous laughter in the face of self-deprecation that has gone a touch too far.
Schwegler is a Hallie Ford Fellow and the recipient of MacDowell Colony Fellowships in 2010 and 2018. Schwegler has been awarded several Individual Project Grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, Oregon. In 2015, she was an Artist-in-Residence at Bullseye Studio in Portland, Oregon. Schwegler earned her MFA from the University of Oregon and is represented, in Portland, by Upfor Gallery.