Stop, This Beat Is Killing Me
$1,200.00
Artist: Luca Jesse Apel
Medium: Carving in Black Walnut and Epoxy Clay
Artist Statement:
“Stop, this beat is killing me” is perhaps the most literal representation of how my heart lies with the land and the trees. It is carved from locally harvested black walnut and white epoxy clay, the wood standing in for muscle, the clay for the adipose tissue that sheathes a living heart. As a lifelong nomad, I found home amongst the trees, and in my adulthood, I brought the trees into my studio. Carving elicits the same sensory joy I feel when hiking – the smell of the sap, the rough of the bark, the sense of accomplishment after a long day. The title carries its irony lightly. Yes, my heart is in the woods; yes, the woods are sometimes out of reach. But this beat — stubborn, rhythmic, continuing, is also what keeps me carving, wandering as far as I can, and finding the trees wherever they grow.
Artist Biography:
I am a sculptor, installation artist, and lifelong nomad, creating works inspired by physiology and my heritage as a Polish immigrant. I work primarily with scavenged and off-cut wood—from logging operations, construction clearing, and naturally felled trees. Rather than imposing predetermined forms, I collaborate with the wood’s imperfections: knots, cracks, and termite trails inform my designs, allowing each piece to dictate its final form. This dialogue with the medium is an integral part of my artistic process and draws parallels between wood and the human body in concepts of scarring, resilience, growth, and decay. Just as each piece of salvaged wood tells a story through its grain patterns, knots, and weathering, human tissues too reveal narratives of survival, adaptation, and healing.
