Todd K. Fox

Much of the inspiration for Fox’s sculptures comes from his study of African and Caribbean art and traditions, with an emphasis on West Nigerian Yoruba culture and their belief systems. Fox’s work is also biographical, often hinting at personal experiences. Two major life events that had a significant effect on Fox’s identity as an artist include his presence at the death of his father (for whom he was caregiver) and the death his best friend of 38 years. He explains, these events impacted my ideals and thought process on death, the after-life, and how we, as humans, express our understanding of these things. These collective influences and experiences serve as a catalyst for his body of work. Through his sculpture, Fox communicates moments of both joy and sadness with full awareness that one cannot exist without the other. He elaborates on this relationship in his work, stating, gestures of joyfulness, dance and happiness are accompanied by sharp objects, such as barbed-wire to represent suffering or the use of iron gears and cogs to represent the suffering and hardness in life. The balance of these conflicting elements, along with the postures and staging of each form, serves to illustrate these narratives.