"Faced with the dilemma of having very little cash (the resounding story of every artist) and the pressure to create an outfit for Miami’s Fetish Ball, Gerry Stecca employed his artistic craft and his unconventional approach to space and shape to create the first ever of his Clothespins works. The result was a movable, three-dimensional dress and what happened next was nothing short of an infectious drive to change the face of sculpture and of space. Gerry Stecca’s clothespins sculptures not only invite the viewer to assess the material and structural implications of these works but also challenge their perception of art in a three-dimensional world. While Stecca’s clothespins continually reinforce his belief in recycled and sustainable goods, they also apply the principles of pattern and repetition. Each piece or installation is formed by hundreds, even thousands, of clothespins, patiently hand-drilled, sometimes stained and connected to the next by wire. This interlocking and interconnected clustering of mediums manifests itself into a movable, flexible and ever-growing piece. As a choice of medium in the creation of these sculptural installations, the Clothespins are not obvious at first, creating patterns, shadows, and textures that intrigue the viewer. In numbers, they connect and accumulate until the final piece is completed. Upon completion, they seek to conform and compete with their physical space. For The Courtauld Installation, one can identify a relationship based on both contrast and on complement between the Clothespins and the architectural outlines of Somerset House. As Stecca states, “They grow. Even when I have a rough idea of the direction I wish to take, the process usually leads to new places, uncharted territory, new shapes and new forms resulting from the delicate, detailed and time consuming process.” Given that the creation of these structures are based on their need to occupy space, what follows is a series of patterns and shadows and textures that change with the mood, the scene and the perspective of the viewer. An underlined message of conservationism, recycling and environmental awareness is obvious in this series, as the material used, represent small devices of energy conservation as well as nostalgic reminders of simpler times. Stecca has paired space as a medium as well as structure as a medium as non representational; these shapes and installations gain life and form, growing and expanding like a virus in a perfect environment, as they are put together, ever surprising the artist as well as the viewer."

The Courtauld Installation, 2009