My current work continues a series which began in 1986 when I first started reading about issues in quantum physics. This series came to be titled “Order and Disorder”.
Individual images and their juxtaposition not only reflect issues I read about in "New Science", but also have come to reflect my interest in other areas such as ornithology, geology, evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, and information theory.
All work is executed in acrylic on wood, and includes wood engraved surfaces as well as three-dimensional wood carved units. The body of my work has taken on two distinct finished forms, one group of relatively small framed works (c. 3 foot x 4 foot), and large irregular-shaped works (c. 8 foot x 10 foot) which are unframed. The smaller works frame image “fragments” in Gothic and Renaissance formats. These gold-wood or weathered steel frames are intended to be seen as an important conceptual element of each work. The small framed works are a laboratory for exploring images which will then appear in the large irregular-shaped works where text (a story) or cultural symbols replace the picture frame as the contextual reference. These large works in the “Order and Disorder” series are constructed of both two and three-dimensional painted wooden units that physically contact or overlay on each other, fitting together as a large puzzle. Some individual units raise off the wall as much as 24”.
The series “Order and Disorder” utilizes references to past art historical styles, and plays off of the difference between tangibility and illusion. All works in this series question the accuracy of our cultural memory, and offer illogical relationships and unexpected visual associations for consideration. Color and design create the essential order between elements which are not normally associated with one another, while the puzzle format of the works locks diverse elements into place. Language and images reference our history, our science and our society, and serve as metaphors for the mystery and the flux between balance and imbalance, exploration and resolution, which continually occurs in our life.
Individual images and their juxtaposition not only reflect issues I read about in "New Science", but also have come to reflect my interest in other areas such as ornithology, geology, evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, and information theory.
All work is executed in acrylic on wood, and includes wood engraved surfaces as well as three-dimensional wood carved units. The body of my work has taken on two distinct finished forms, one group of relatively small framed works (c. 3 foot x 4 foot), and large irregular-shaped works (c. 8 foot x 10 foot) which are unframed. The smaller works frame image “fragments” in Gothic and Renaissance formats. These gold-wood or weathered steel frames are intended to be seen as an important conceptual element of each work. The small framed works are a laboratory for exploring images which will then appear in the large irregular-shaped works where text (a story) or cultural symbols replace the picture frame as the contextual reference. These large works in the “Order and Disorder” series are constructed of both two and three-dimensional painted wooden units that physically contact or overlay on each other, fitting together as a large puzzle. Some individual units raise off the wall as much as 24”.
The series “Order and Disorder” utilizes references to past art historical styles, and plays off of the difference between tangibility and illusion. All works in this series question the accuracy of our cultural memory, and offer illogical relationships and unexpected visual associations for consideration. Color and design create the essential order between elements which are not normally associated with one another, while the puzzle format of the works locks diverse elements into place. Language and images reference our history, our science and our society, and serve as metaphors for the mystery and the flux between balance and imbalance, exploration and resolution, which continually occurs in our life.