bio.
Ian Van D’s tree-like figures are constructed from layers of scavenged wood, repurposed fabrics, old paintings, and many of Ian’s drawings. Applied in layers of paper and wood glue, layered like rings of a tree, his drawings are both nightmarish and childlike. Compelled by family relationships and living with chronic pain, the evolution of old materials into new works mirrors the growing pains of adulthood. His figures are looming, designed to possess the space between nature and industry, as if harbingers of the past, present, and future. Are these tall figures out to harm us or protect us? Or are they just neutral observers who embody some of our darkest interior struggles?