DD Herschlein

Biography

DD Herschlein was born in 1989 in Bayville, New York. They live and work in Brooklyn, New York, and received their BFA from New York University. Working in sculpture, drawing, and performance, Herschlein uses images of the body and horror tropes to explore the human desire for comfort and emotional understanding.

Made of wood, plaster, and wax, Herschlein’s sculptures and reliefs depict headless, scarecrow-like figures and dismembered body parts. The effect is at once unsettling and surprisingly tender: figures lined up against a fence grasp each others’ hands as they seem to yearn toward the warm glow of suburban windows; a black figure reaches inside a window pane to gently grasp the draping curtain. The voyeur appears as a common character in Herschlein’s work, not as a threat but as “somebody who feels outside of the equation,” explains the artist. Alienation, aloneness, and fear also run through Herschlein’s work, with the intent of sparking deeper self-reflection. “If I can look at that at face value,” says the artist, “maybe it’s fine to be scared or sad or anxious; it’s not such a threat.”