Single cut
2018
Aluminum, titan, lacquer

Michail Pirgelis (b. 1976) was born in Essen, Germany, and his art making practice began at airplane graveyards in the deserts of California and Arizona. He repurposes detritus from discarded aircraft, from small ambiguous scraps to full circular fuselages complete with windows. Though sometimes polishing or grinding down cut portions, the artist does not usually alter the materials much. He leaves painted letters mostly intact, traces of wear and tear from flight, and desert sand and sun deliberately visible. His resulting two and three-dimensional works often resemble minimalist painting and sculpture with elegant enigmatic lines, but the occasional rivet or identifiable letter from a carrier’s name provide clues to their origins. As for the particular plane that served as source material for “Single cut,” the artist isn’t telling.