Train 1983

Howard Finster's "Train," built from wire, metal scraps, and found objects, is a three-dimensional drawing in space, a visionary contraption. The transparency of the wire lets us see the inside and the outside at the same time, a kind of simultaneous perspective that Finster often employed. Look closely and you can see his little figures contained within the wire frame, like souls on a journey. The texture is rough, raw, the wire bent and twisted with an almost feverish energy. It's not about perfect construction, but about the act of making, the drive to bring an idea into being. There’s a kind of madcap energy to this piece that reminds me of Paul McCarthy’s sculptural assemblages, that same feeling of a world built from the ground up, where anything is possible. Finster's work embraces the chaotic beauty of the everyday, transforming discarded materials into a vehicle for spiritual transport. It's a reminder that art can be found in the most unexpected places.