Original artwork description:

My geometric abstract paintings are an extension of the tradition advanced in the 1960s and 70s, variously known as hard-edge abstraction or colorfield painting. The surface is devoid of texture and traces of paint-handling, except for the slight ridges caused by the removed tape. Each work is on a cradled panel, painted with acrylic gouache (low-binder, non-reflective, intense color), and not meant to be framed so that the compositional field moves onto the surrounding wall. Each work is sealed in a UV protective matte varnish, signed en verso and ready to hang.

Triangles, squares, rectangles, rhomboids, circles and trapeziums are arranged in autonomous, non-hierarchical patterns. Color and line, and the energy that arises through the juxtapositions created by abrupt transitions between areas, are my primary subjects. Patterns repeat across works, with variations of color, scale, and relative placement, thus offering infinite possibilities.

I think of each pattern as a block reminiscent of a batik tjap, or a syntactical unit such as a subject and its predicate; thus the vocabulary of these works is comprised of fundamental, interchangeable, yet variable units, which nonetheless cohere. While clarity of design has been a goal of geometric abstract artists, because I use up to three dozen patterns, the complexity multiplies exponentially; however I strive to achieve a sense of balance within the complexity. They ‘work’ because of the way the brain orders and re-orders each individual viewing: each looks ‘new’ each time. My goal is to create works that are as interesting as they are beautiful, that give aesthetic pleasure and transmits a luminous energy.

Materials used:

wood, acrylic gouache paint

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