Scott VanderVoort
Burning and Balance
Scott VanderVoort’s residency at the Thomas VanDyke Sculpture Garden continues his exploration of balance, perception, and the quiet beauty found within geometric constraint. Working within a self-created visual language, an ‘alphabet’ derived from the relationship between a circle and a square, VanderVoort distills form to its essence. His practice, rooted in a process of reduction and transformation, began with a simple architectural cinder block he encountered in Bali. By gradually altering its structure, he uncovered new possibilities of shape and space, shifting perception and revealing an unexpected elegance in the familiar.
When Scott VanderVoort took over the sculpture garden for the 2025 season at Thomas VanDyke Gallery, he came to the space with a curiosity, to explore structure, weight, light, weather, and all the unknown variables, with an open mind. He came to ask questions and learn, to try new processes, to think while doing, to problem solve and contemplate. VanderVoort engages with his work. He knows the texture and mass of each piece, the cracks where they’ve been joined, the black, then red, then white hot wood under the flaming torch, then the hiss and smoke under the water from the hose. There’s a sense of calm thrill and quiet wonder when watching VanderVoort work, a fulfillment in his order and experimentation. His work is dynamic but soothing; big ideas with measured approach that results in an evolution of the curious mind and the physical world.
VanderVoort’s recent sculptures embrace the idea of change and confront what it means to be open to vulnerability. His work takes time. It takes exposure. It takes an interest in observing how the world works and applying what’s learned to new projects. He assembles and constructs, dissassembles and reconstructs.
His pieces Ghent Stacks get their name from the years of time they spent exposed to the elements in Ghent, New York, soaking up mud, earning a coat of patina, expanding and contracting, and taking it all in. Now positioned in 2 imposing yet delicate arrangements, their not-quite-even alignments allow for questions about the stability of these thick, solid-looking timbers.
All of the works in the sculpture garden have been allowed, encouraged, and stimulated to continue changing. Wood is left in the sun to warp, in the rain to soak, and in the mud to soil. Stone crevices have become home to insects, hunting ground for birds, and refuge for rodents. Metal is exposed to hydrogen peroxide causing rapid oxidation, brilliant color change and rough textured surface.
Other works on display are reminiscent of some of the stone sculptures VanderVoort has made at his studio in Bali. His practice there has primarily focused on traditional carving techniques and its application to the physical alphabet that he developed and uses as a base of his study. VanderVoort’s practice in Bali and his experience with master carvers there has informed the work he’s been making during his sculpture garden residency, allowing him to try practiced techniques on new materials. He’s been working with wood, plastic, metal, and found objects, and introducing techniques new to his artistic process.
VanderVoort’s use of fire to initiate change to an object is something its self that came about organically. His observation about what happens to different materials when heated, the resulting textures, colors and fissions, the resilience and fragility of varying types of matter, all informed what has become part of his sculpting.
Scott’s sculptures and paintings exist within this refined framework, where form and material engage in a dynamic interplay. Whether stacked, arranged in linear sequences, or expanded into complex compositions, each work invites contemplation from all angles. The residency offers an opportunity to experience the full dimensionality of VanderVoort’s practice, where painted surfaces and sculptural structures echo the same fundamental inquiry. It’s a chance for artist and audience to interact with his work in an outdoor space, allowing the sculptures and the space to age, react, and evolve according to the temperament of nature and the structured notion of design. The space will go through many alterations, iterations, and transformations throughout the next year. Through this cohesive approach, he extends an invitation for viewers to engage with their own sense of balance, awareness, and discovery.
Scott VanderVoort is a New York based artist currently developing and evolving his artistic language across paper, canvas, wood, mirror and stone as a resident of Art Cake in Brooklyn, New York. Since fully committing to his art practice in 2021, his work has been shown internationally, including two solo shows, while executing private commissions across the U.S.
Scott’s prior professional life spanned various design disciplines including industrial design, interior design and architecture, working both as Designer and Creative Director. A passionate educator, Scott served as adjunct Associate Professor of Industrial Design at Pratt Institute for twenty years, where he was a teacher, curator and contributor to departmental and institutional initiatives, and led immersive creative workshops at progressive creative institutions around the world including Samsung Art + Design Institute in Seoul, Korea and BambooU in Bali, Indonesia. He has a BA in Industrial Design with Honors from Pratt Institute.
Artist Statement
“My recent work explores themes of beauty, order and perception. I focus on capturing and formalizing our connection to ‘balance’ and how one might achieve this through the use of positive and negative spatial conditions. My works are built from a self-created Alphabet which contrasts a circle to a square and rigorously explores all the possibilities within these two shapes. I aim to extract beauty from familiar geometries, generating forms with no beginning, middle or end - and inviting people to see from all sides and distances, to sit and more deeply contemplate their own pathways to visual awareness.”