Mary Jo Bole’s pieces are colossal, monumental, and intricate.  You will always find a story and tedious detail.  As a native of Cleveland, Ohio she has described her hometown as a “rust belt” and says she is “a product of a faded Victorian culture.”* In these words, I hear the cold winds blowing through a broken down industrial city, the overcrowded streets and chatter from overcrowded factories haunt our modern world.  But it’s these abandoned buildings and moldy ruffled dresses that can inspire and drive a sculptor like Mary Jo to create colossal things.  The amount of history in her work is always significant. 

Photo by Tony Walsh Photography

One of my favorites, Odd Luck, constructed from 1997-2000, is a giant horseshoe made up of smaller horseshoes with porcelain plaques on top showing; you guessed it, odd luck.  For example, a couple, each from a different religion, married and therefore was unable to be buried in the same graveyard.  A fence separates their graves and the stones are joined at the top as if they are holding hands.

* Mary Jo Bole Artist Statement