Jason Middlebrook

Jason Middlebrook imbues natural forms and found objects with references to the foremost abstractionists of the 20th century. He is best known for the carved and hewn tree trunks he uses as canvases for geometric composition, variously referencing works by Ellsworth Kelly, Bridget Riley, or Frank Stella—a jarring yet elegant juxtaposition of natural unpredictability with rigidly calculated forms. Middlebrook has also turned concrete-cast bottles into corner-spill assemblages, and crafted mobiles of wooden scraps that pay explicit homage to the seminal works of Alexander Calder.