Dylan Conner (b. 1989)Dylan DeBock Conner, born in Houston, TX in 1989, received his BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art, his MFA from the University of Houston, and studied art history at the University of Houston Downtown. Conner builds sculpture primarily using mild steel, stainless steel, plaster, and concrete. A variety of other materials can be found in his work as well. He has designed and fabricated a number of permanent public artworks, including three stainless steel Texas icons that were installed along the new Texas Mall leading up to the North side of the Texas State Capitol in 2022. He has also been instrumental in the creation of a variety of monumental works by other artists including Ed Wilson’s Soaring in The Clouds at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX. Artist StatementI create my sculptures with steel, plaster, and concrete, historically rich materials that carry inherent conceptual weight. I find new aesthetic value in the properties of these materials by pushing them to their limits. Force, pressure, bulging, compression, constraint, and vulnerability are recurring themes. In some pieces, I also incorporate found materials such as a cast iron lamp-post, a heavy wooden beam, delicate wallpaper, or a steel marine buoy. Site is always an important consideration in my work, but when I use found objects, rather than responding to the site they typically inhabit, the sculptures become self-reflective in nature and assume an introspective quality. Trial and error are fundamental to my process as I experiment with casting and fabricate intricate steel frameworks. Some of my works are successful because so many have failed. Investigating the entire process, from conception through execution to failure or success, is the driving force of my practice. *ARTIST INTERVIEW