In addition to the paintings that I produced from 2018-2024, which used an automatic drawing systems based on cubes, I developed a three-dimensional, modular version of the drawing system that allows to me to respond to a space. Images below in no chronological order.
Artist statement:
I have always been drawn to abstraction for its singular ability to inhabit a space that foregrounds contemplation, which is an approach to life which is of immense value. The title of the work- “Life’s meaning is enhanced by its fleeting and transient nature”- calls the viewer’s attention to the value of experience. The object-making part of my practice is centered on automatic drawing utilizing interconnected cubes. This project is an extension of that process onto the wall, IE, the compositions are not pre-planned and I treat the individual cubes as proxies for brush strokes or mark-making. The work is temporary, only existing for the duration of each exhibit. The simultaneous “everywhere and nowhere” energy of the installations seems authentic for me and the era in which I find myself. The cube has several layers of significance for me that includes representation of early, Modernist ideas of nonrepresentational painting which foreground contemplation.
Following are the posts I made about this project over its life, in reverse chronological order.
Dimensions, take 2
Got the opportunity to show a simultaneously scaled up and scaled down version of Dimensions at Attic 506 in Chapel Hill, which is truly a gem for the Triangle- artist-run and focused, always scrappy and always weird. This iteration is “scaled up” in the sense that these are much larger iterations of the cube installations than anything I’ve shown publicly to date (larger than human-size) and “scaled down” because this exhibit only features the installation work and not paintings or assemblages. The space that was available was also ideal for this work, with the proximity to the work by viewers…
Details of Cubes as Drawings
1/17/22 Took these when the cubes were installed for Dimensions. Hope the images make it clear not only why I’ve gotten so lost in them from time to time but also how I approach these works as a proxy for painting, with the surface/texture of the cubes a stand in for, for example, impasto, and obviously the identical role chroma plays.
Dimensions at Golden Belt
10/9/21 Hey followers (all 240 of you, how lucky am I?)! I’m excited to add a new blog category to make it easier for you all to get updates on what I’m actually doing (I’ve been using the blog/post functionality in WordPress almost exclusively for posting about other artists). When I make updates to any portfolio pages on work in progress or when I complete new work, I’ll use this updates category to share with you. I hope it increases your interest in this blog. I’m really excited about my first announcement, too! Just this last week, I was asked…
Scale- down; color- up
Update 8/29/21 I’ve continued to expand the quantity of “proxy brushstrokes” that I need for my cube-based “automatism.” I’ll continue to update this post as I make new compositions (all of which remain temporary). Each composition (is that the right word- installation maybe?) starts with 4 to as many as 8 cubes which have sawtooth picture hanging hardware on the back, which hung off of flat-head screws mounted into the drywall of the workspace I use in my studio to have exploration time. The cubes can be tilted because they’re hung on one screw. From there (after the initial cubes…
Stacking
After figuring out how to move the cubes to the wall I wanted to, like painting, scale up. Each of these pieces took a couple of hours to assemble on site. There were no pre-drawings or plans. The palette was limited on purpose. None of the blocks are attached to each other, although some are attached to the wall.
Moving cubes to the wall
I’ve continued to make cubes and recently began exploring moving them off of a pedestal or other flat surface onto the wall.
#temporaryart
(update 8/2) I’ve taken an interest in the cubes as proxies for brushstrokes (they have 6 sides so each can be presented quite a few ways), and in stacking them as analogous to the way I create compositions. But perhaps more than anything, I’m intrigued by the idea that each installation of them could be a unique, here-then-gone experience, especially since the experiential element of art- the quality of viewing the same- is of the most interest to me in my practice.
Cube Selector
Following are some examples of a conceptual art piece that I did in the first half of 2020. My collaborators were other friends who would give me instructions (an inverse Sol Lewit) via web form. each participant was emailed an image of the configuration of cubes I made based on their instructions. 9 cubes of all types with David on 05/20/20 15 yellow cubes with Michael on 5/21/20 6 varied red cubes with Jessica on 5/21/20 9 red cubes with Barbara Anne on 5/21/20 At this point in the project I realized a few modifications that needed to be made…
“Painting” cubes with light
Some artists do a daily drawing or sketch (or even painting) so I’ve been exploring this processas a proxy for drawing or sketching. The conditions require some set-up, and I’m finding that there is a limitation to the amount of time that the cubes, once “charged,” will (re)emit enough light to result in a decent photo, so making the images requires me to react quickly to the results of how the blocks reveal the light, which isn’t always entirely known at the time I set them in position for prep. “Yes” I think there will be a medium-term play to…
Beginnings- cubes with dimension
The way that I draw the (isometric) cubes in my paintings is similar to techniques used by designers when drafting a physical space- I even use red drafting pencil sometimes. I have been thinking for a while that this modality I’ve adopted is a sort of “building” system; also, I and others have noted that the cubes in my drawings and paintings aren’t moored by gravity or beholden to a true light source. So, what if I began to explore those last two sets of limitations within an actual building system. I’ve begun to make a set of cubes that…