Palimpsest
Art is often a reflection of life. Artists use a plethora of varying materials and media to convey ideas both visual and thought provoking alike. However, transcending the 2D plane in art doesn’t confine itself to creating a three-dimensional sculpture. Any artwork will be made up of layers, whether literally with materials or with deeper layers of thought. Layers are most clearly shown and understood in collage as the artist's though process in action. Even the basic act of cutting up photos and placing, collaging them together is the beginning of a profound sequence of experimentation and innovation. Overlaid images reveal new, obscured relationships amongst the elements used and at the same time enable the creation of new visual imagery through a new interpretation of the parts to the whole. Increased complexity in artistic representation is explored and presented in this exhibition through a number of selected works that provide an interpretation of the potential behind the superimposition of layers. As a result, this exhibition focuses on Post-War artists’ use of transparencies, layers, and overlapping along with media experimentation to express ideas of change, growth and movement in this convoluted modern era.
These selected works express progressive methods of collage where the thought and creative process of the artist is visible through the order of stacked individual overlays. The ambiguity that arises from these collapsed transparencies on top of each other gives rise to a new interpretation of form and provides a more analytical and careful reading of the artists’ compositions. Consequently, these layers can be considered as the building blocks for each of these artists’ pieces. Some blocks are diluted to a pellucid quality like in some of Rauschenberg’s prints such as Ape (Stoned Moon), 1970, Caucus, 1997, whilst others show the thickness amounted on top of each other such as Rauschenberg’s Untitled (Gold Painting), 1953 or even in a kinetic manner in Rauschenberg’s Eco-Echo I, 1992–93. A particular artist in this exhibition, Dustin Yellin, uses transparency, progression and three dimensionality to arrive at his repeated planes of glass with meticulous and layered paintings as portrayed in Figure 30, 2013. Through the sequence of layers, wherein each layer is made up of 2D elements, Yellin creates a three dimensional space. The spatial quality of Yellin's work alludes to the complexity of our lives, where we're not a single being but rather a sum of all our experiences and stages throughout our lives.
Through the organization of these artworks, visitors will enter a space that will gradually guide them through an experience of growing complexity. Starting with Rauschenberg’s White Painting [three panel], 1951, there is a smooth transition into Mark Rothko’s simple use layered blocks of color which quickly picks up the pace along the rest of the exhibition to end with Dustin Yellin’s volumetric compression of 2D planes.
Ray Lux
Valeria Flores
