NinaJohnson

Using found objects—such as tie-dyed t-shirts, found photographs, and discarded wood—Daniel Milewski produces sculptures, works on paper, and video installations through which he explores social structures, popular ideologies, and the tension between the extraordinary and the banal in common objects and daily life. Milewski’s works, like his influences, range widely and carry references to popular culture and art history. The nature of art-making, and the position of the artist in society, are undercurrents running through much of his output. Chester Copperpot (2009), for example, is a sculpture composed of variously sized wooden planks lashed together with red plastic wrap and titled after the eponymous character in the The Goonies (1985), a reclusive scavenger whose quest for treasure leads the protagonists on their own adventure—much as the artist guides the viewer down twisting interpretive pathways. Milewski also says he is driven by a search for truth within the myth of the American male.