Bernice Steinbaum on Beverly Buchanan

Buchanan’s older work dealt with the bricks and stones of architecture and seems to eliminate the hand of the artist. In the new sculptures, both indoor and outdoor, Buchanan abandons solidity, calm and self-effacement. She trades the stones and concrete for wood, tin, other metals and foam core. Rather than suggesting architecture, she has constructed shacks. Walls and floors veer at precarious angles creating a visual definition of the term lean-to. These shacks that Buchanan creates are inspired by those that she sees in Georgia. They do not focus on the depressing aspects of the shack dweller but rather are an effort to combine characteristic painting and sculpture. In contrast to many sculptors and architects, Buchanan does not impart a god-like power to her creations. The artist faces the realization that nothing is forever and that both man and his art are not immortal.