GINA KAMENTSKY, sculptor, animator, designer and teacher, has spent most of her life creating objects and media for the amusement of children and adults. During the 90s in her career as a toy and game inventor, she developed a worldwide reputation creating products for companies including Mattel, Milton Bradley, Fisher Price and Parker Brothers. Kamentsky combines fantasy and reality in one of a kind mechanical toys and kinetic sculptures. Gina Kamentsky lives and works in Provincetown and in Boston where she also teaches at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
For this exhibition Kamentsky has created eight new wall pieces. In this series crisscrossing fine metal rods sub-divide circular frames of steel into complex grids. These linear wires create visual and physical structure in the work, and support a variety of mechanical components. Each piece is operated by turning a crank which sets found objects and mechanical elements into motion. Bells, wooden blocks and ratchet gears fashioned from bits of found metal create a rhythm of sound and motion engaging the viewer.

I set about making the pieces, creating a circular frame of steel using an antique Ring Roller. Straight rod is inserted into one end of the device. With energetic hand cranking, I create two circles which are soldered together to create the frame. Mechanisms, researched from my library of engineering books, form the heart of each sculpture. The ratchets and mechanics in these pieces are based on inventive devices dating back several centuries.
The work is developed, cutting components from found tin, brass and steel. I enjoy leaving bits of text and graphics revealing a bit about the original items. Some of these materials have their roots in Provincetown second hand shops and yard sales. I shape each piece intuitively, letting the wire support structure develop around the mechanical components. Working several weeks on each sculpture, I let the composition emerge and am always surprised by the result. Each piece is finished with several coats of oil to keep things running smoothly.

After completing a work I always shoot a bit of video, edit together a rough cut of the piece in action, and upload it to YouTube. I do this to share my progress with a lively online community of Kinetic Sculptors and fans. A month ago, when reviewing a video, I heard myself exhaling loudly as I did the work of cranking the piece. This embarrassed me a bit, the sound seemed too intimate for public viewing and I was a bit unsure about revealing my physical presence in the video.Considering this, I realized that my breathing was directly connected to the work of making and interacting with each piece. The rhythm of the piece in motion is breathing! Enjoy the work and stay well oiled. ~GK, June 2011