Scott Bye

Scott Bye is part of the Living Legacy Project at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Click here to listen to his artist interview.

Scott Bye is an artist based in Buffalo, NY. He graduated with a BFA in Sculpture from Fredonia State University in 2006. Bye’s work rests in both found materials as well as the creative fabrication of unlikely structures that are produced from everyday objects. The viewer may be intrigued not only by the peculiarity and unfamiliarity of what they see, but may also be drawn in by the recognition of commonality that weaves itself throughout his work. Scott exhibits his work regionally in the Western New York area. His work can be found in galleries, homes and schools in the Finger Lakes region of WNY. [1]

He is a founding member of Trans Empire Canal Corporation (TECC), a Buffalo-based collective responsible for the Burchfield Penney Art Center’s 2014 multi-year project “Cultural Commodities: As Exhibition in Four Phases,” informally referred to as the “art barge.”

In a 2011 interview in Artvoice, Bye observed “Time alone with an idea and artifacts brings me back to childhood, building forts and making contraptions out of random garage stuff. These sculptures people can relate to[;] they tell a story, but not my story—it is a story that only the viewer knows, and they find it through the objects I use.” [2]

In his resume, Bye writes:

“What deeply motivates me as an artist and drives my sense of purpose rests both in Salvaged materials that I use, as well as the creative fabrication of unlikely structures that I produce from these objects. These structures derive from spontaneous thought and action, capturing elements of human experience such as life, death, creation, destruction, and morality I address these issues, and dualities of existence, as only I know how – through a wit and candor that I believe the found object is integral in generating.

 Spontaneous thought is essential to the development of my work, as it is this that enables the idea, which lies in the unconscious mind to come to the surface. When unrestricted by rigid pre-determined goals, I can create form, theme and context for my work. The work that results from this is a reflection of my personal experiences both past and present. These experiences are transported and transformed into a visual vocabulary, recognizable not only to me, but to the viewer. The viewer may be intrigued not only by the peculiarity and unfamiliarity of what they see, but may also be drawn in by the recognition of commonality that weaves itself throughout my work.” [1]

 [1] “Resume”, Scotty Bye, taken from http://sculpturebyescott.com/

For more information on Scott Bye, visit http://www.sculpturebyescott.com/.

[2] Author unknown, “Scott Bye: Painter and Sculptor,” Artvoice, 8/31/2011, http://artvoice.com/issues/v10n35/fall_arts_interviews/scott_bye.html . (Accessed 8/12/2014)