Civitella Board Member Jon Kessler (CRF 2015) presents The Fourth Bird, a selection of bronze and ceramic sculptures, at Mildred Lane’s Complex(ity) in Narrowsburg, N.Y. from June 28th to August 2nd, 2025. Mildred Lane writes, “The works utilize upcycled bronze spills alongside other sourced and found materials while combining industrial debris, the residue of kitsch, and repurposed pieces of technology. The result is a series of dynamically whimsical constructions that speak to contemporary anxieties around climate and ecology while simultaneously evoking an alternative world of wonder.
The sculptures in The Fourth Bird draw on multiple influences, notably Alexander Calder’s “stabiles” and Japanese ikebana flower arrangements. In addition to their dynamic compositions, the sculptures imply movement or are otherwise kinetic. Small counterweights, and balancing parts fluidly react to a viewer’s presence in the room.
Kessler’s work has long straddled the boundary between speaking to modern anxieties and actively eliciting them in the viewer. Past projects have dealt with war, terrorism, surveillance, the military-industrial complex and global warming, often in confrontation and always intended to provoke powerful reactions from the viewer. In The Fourth Bird, Kessler has moved away from these aggressively confrontational works toward more subtle and mournful evocations of ecological fragility.
Utilizing many familiar tropes of the 20th century artist: the assemblage, the found object, the political affect–Kessler has opted for a series of surprisingly intimate and considered constructions. Expanding on his recent explorations in bronze and ceramics, these works conjure post-pastoral landscapes, where beauty and ecological collapse intertwine. Incorporating materials as varied as scavenged metal, glazed clay, and German porcelain figurines, these relics of the future balance elegance and entropy, offering a poignant commentary on reclamation and regeneration.”
Learn more at mildredslane.org and explore footage and images from the exhibition on Instagram.