In all my work, I am intrigued by the ability of the individual to distinguish form when staring into the unrecognizable and, how, when confronted with mystery and uncertainty, one can find meaning and understanding, and experience a sense of harmony within tension and chaos.
In my Construct series, It was my intention to explore the formal elements of art by reducing compositions to their most simple forms and create works that are ultimately about transcendence, harmony, and order. I referenced the traditions of Abstract Expressionism, Color Field Painting, Op Art, Minimalism, and the work of Rothko, Newman, Louis, Judd and Riley among others—all purveyors of work which has great spiritual and mystical potency. It was through this foundation that this body of work emerged.
Physically, a “Construct” is a construction made of multiple layers of plywood creating a varied surface which often includes convex and/or concave architectural forms. That surface is then covered over with lengths of hardwood which vary in width and depth. These lengths are attached side by side and painted over with a rubbed acrylic color finish. The result is a 3D architectural surface in which form projects and recedes across the facade and combines with color and cast shadows in creating a complex visual resonance. It is a hybrid of painting, sculpture, and architecture, and appears as a tactile surface in the midst of a chromatically rich atmosphere which leads the viewer into the beautiful, complex and meditative world of pure color and form.
Symbolically a Construct becomes a metaphor for the complexity of form even within the simplest idea of form itself—the line. Color variation and the harmony and dissonance caused by it’s placement, and the 3 dimensionality of the work itself, all reinforce this complexity. Viewing the piece directly can obscure whether the piece is physically protruding or receding. That in combination with the color temperature of the particular line all act to create an impression of what is happening on the surface. Yet viewed from an angle and it becomes something entirely different, and we realize that what was interpreted to be coming forward was actually receding or the reverse— what appeared as a simple line of color is actually a complex layering of color, physical depth, and shadow. It’s until we’ve viewed the piece from all sides that we can see the fullness of the piece for what it really is.