Axial Stones: An Art of Precarious Balance

Quasha is a poet (Giving Lily Back Her Hands, etc.) and artist. While Quasha writes a great deal about his art here, it is best to let these 39 ""Axial Stones,"" beautifully documented in a plethora of color photos, speak for themselves. Each piece is quite simple: two rocks, one perched upon the other precariously, with a sense of mass in suspension and in a kind of relaxed, yet energy-filled harmony. Quasha has an exquisite eye in the selection of the stones, in the manner in which he has composed them. The photos, by Sherry Williams, document the work with elegance and precision, and also offer glimpses into Quasha's working process. As Art in America contributing editor Ratliff notes, ""For Quasha, an axis is like an intention: a force that, as it generates possibilities, gives them a provisional but intelligible order."" It's an order that is as beautiful as it is immediately grasped.