Andrea Overturf turns junk, old dolls and ephemera into art

Andrea Overturf is a symphonic musician. But this did not satisfy her creativity – so she began to make multimedia sculptures: recycle things that many people might consider trash. Now her hobby has become a second career and Overturf is now one of the officially featured artists whose work is on display at The Studio Door in Hillcrest.

“Only (I) could have gotten doll parts backstage at a concert,” Overturf said as she carefully unwrapped the dismembered limbs of the porcelain doll. These parts of the doll then ended up in her studio, also known as the Mortuary.

“Usually there are parts of dolls lying around, just various incorporeal toys, heads and whatnot. So I think it’s kind of an unofficial “Morgue,” Overtorf said with a smile.

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This is one of the works that made Beth Accomando fall in love with the art of Andrea Overtherf.

Needless to say, I fell in love with Overturf art the moment I saw it. It would fit perfectly into the living room of The Addams Family, epitomizing the creepy yet bizarre in the most deliciously evil way. Her multimedia 3D sculptures often feature puppet heads or limbs grafted onto typewriters or peeking out of cabinets. There is a sense of life and movement in her pieces, as if inviting us to set them in motion, like a complex Rube Goldberg device.

“I think her work is for the curious,” said Patrick Stillman, owner of The Studio Door. “I mean, looking at it, you think, ‘What is this? Where did it come from? In what world does this creature live? I think it’s really for the inquisitive mind.”

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Artist Andrea Overturf loves to recycle things she finds on exchanges or thrift stores.

Overtherf said she grew up in a house similar to the Pee-wee Theater with her mother, whose craft inspired her. Overturf was also inspired by an old television anthology show by Roald Dahl called “Exit”, specifically an episode called “Sideshow” which featured a “freak” named Cassandra, the Electric Woman.

“She’s 100% human in a dress, she’s chained to the electric chair, and she has a giant light bulb for her head,” Overturf said. “So, this image really sunk into my soul.”

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Andrea Overturf considers this her COVID piece because she felt like a silent, wingless bird during the pandemic.

And it is an image that conveys a lot of information about her work to her audience, where the mechanical is mixed with something human or animal.

“She takes small parts of things and creates something new out of them,” said Stillman. “They can be parts of an electrical box or even old-fashioned fixtures and light bulbs. So, all these ingredients come together to create such a ferocious, curious creature. But I would like to say that this is not so much about the dark and gloomy side of things. It’s more about the violent and humorous side of things, which I think is really exceptional for her art.”

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One of Andrea Overturf’s sculptures.

Her art is inspired by the things around her, so her home is filled with toys, strange beasts, rusty springs, and a closet full of items lovingly selected in exchange or randomly given to her by friends and strangers.

“Even when I moved into my current home, builders saw my work and brought me a broken watch because they said, ‘We found this and we think you’ll like it,’” Overturf said.

She liked how this gesture gave meaning to her art. But these items or details can lie idle for years while she waits for that “aha” moment.

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When Andrea Overturf saw this vintage typewriter, she immediately knew what she wanted to do, but sometimes the original parts sit idle for years before she actually uses them.

“Sometimes there is a moment when I see that – although these are two completely disparate objects – they look like they just belong to each other. I don’t just impose two items and just put them together…belong to each other,” said Overturf.

It’s like marriage-worthy pieces because so much of her art feels like a living, breathing thing that forms relationships. These are not inanimate objects. They all have a personality and she is the matchmaker that brings them together. This is the gameplay.

Holding small black tentacles and a diving doll in her hands, she stands over the back of a toy truck.

“I had these tentacles that should be for your fingers,” Overturf said, contemplating the shapes in front of her. “And then I think it’s pretty quirky and cool to have these little scuba divers, so you have this giant baby diver with things like Gulliver’s Travels.”

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Andrea Overturf calls this work “The Cannibal”.

When she played with tentacles or attached a victim to a piece called Ogre, she admitted that some people see her work as a dark aesthetic.

“But for me, it’s usually what I find funny or beautiful. I have a black sense of humor,” said Overterf. “I just tend to gravitate toward those things. And I think these things are beautiful and funny.”

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Two sculptures by Andrea Overtherf currently on display at The Studio Door in Hillcrest.

Indeed they were. But you can decide for yourself by viewing the Overturf art at The Studio Door in Hillcrest. She is one of the featured artists whose work will be exhibited during the first half of the year.

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