Jude Heichelbech

Found-Object Sculptor, Painter and Musician

Jude Heichelbech was born in the Midwest and many of the objects used in her sculpture come from the alleys and abandoned houses there. She also farms the east coast for objects, the beaches, the railroads. Detritus that has outlived its intended purpose, has degraded significantly, or is hopelessly misplaced in abandoned corners is especially evocative to me. The stories these things have witnessed, the hands they have touched, and the beautiful, inexorable decay they suffer are all part of a dialogue of intrigue. After that, the dialogue is one of material, shape, form, what fits where, and the physical mechanics of building with delicate, broken objects. Importantly, the avoidance of using new materials is an environmental choice. Where possible, I build with as many used materials as I possibly can, hoping to save items from the landfill for a little longer, and asking the viewer to have a new and thoughtful relationship to the things we have already “thrown away”.