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Eyeball Shiatsu
May. 17th, 2006 01:18 pmLocal artist Keith Clancy's latest exhibition is utterly delightful, an exploration of how rigorous structure and formal rules of composition can produce an organic, hallucinatory experience (and possibly a touch of vertigo).
In this series, Keith has set himself a few very restrictive parameters to work within. 5 colours. 5 line widths. Parallel, vertical stripes only. Square canvas. Freed from the uncertainty of large-scale compostional decisions, Keith has turned his attention to the impact of microcomposition- the way one line interacts with its neighbour, the influence of rhythm vs randomness, how to structure a painting so it is a single piece rather than an excised chunk of a larger whole.
On first look, the pieces are simply intense stripes- brightly coloured barcodes, mother's curtains seen through a fog of acid. Give them 10 more seconds and the truth becomes suddenly apparent; these are highly formal, deeply considered experiments, the rules of their construction a puzzle to be solved, the development and progression to be mapped, a brain-teaser and mind-bender. They're also an immense tease: the moment you attempt to focus on the detail of a painting, it segues to a shimmering field of colour and texture, impossible to pin down, the dense colours and borders playing merry hell with your eye and mind. Retreating from the painting doesn't ease the effect either, it merely reveals that Keith has designed the paintings to be fractal in nature- the colours still shimmer, your eyes struggle for focus, and your mind gnashes it's teeth in frustration.
Its the dichotomy of these pieces that frustrates and delights, the rigid structure creating an organic experience, the compulsion to decode and understand being thoroughly thwarted by the limitations of our eyes and mind. I love it. I hate it. I love it.
(Per)mutations, by Keith Clancy.
See it at Compose Art Gallery,
2a Hakanoa st (next door to the organic butcher)
Grey Lynn.
But dont bother going to the Compose Art Gallery website, as they're stuck in March and dont realise the value of UPDATING THE FRIGGIN' WEBPAGE.
UPDATE: A somewhat concerned phonecall from the proprietor of the Compose Art Gallery website and all is well: updated exhibition details will be up tomorrow, the erroneous reference to March's exhibition will be removed, and Keith's paintings are selling like psychedelic hotcakes! Get round there soon...
In this series, Keith has set himself a few very restrictive parameters to work within. 5 colours. 5 line widths. Parallel, vertical stripes only. Square canvas. Freed from the uncertainty of large-scale compostional decisions, Keith has turned his attention to the impact of microcomposition- the way one line interacts with its neighbour, the influence of rhythm vs randomness, how to structure a painting so it is a single piece rather than an excised chunk of a larger whole.
On first look, the pieces are simply intense stripes- brightly coloured barcodes, mother's curtains seen through a fog of acid. Give them 10 more seconds and the truth becomes suddenly apparent; these are highly formal, deeply considered experiments, the rules of their construction a puzzle to be solved, the development and progression to be mapped, a brain-teaser and mind-bender. They're also an immense tease: the moment you attempt to focus on the detail of a painting, it segues to a shimmering field of colour and texture, impossible to pin down, the dense colours and borders playing merry hell with your eye and mind. Retreating from the painting doesn't ease the effect either, it merely reveals that Keith has designed the paintings to be fractal in nature- the colours still shimmer, your eyes struggle for focus, and your mind gnashes it's teeth in frustration.
Its the dichotomy of these pieces that frustrates and delights, the rigid structure creating an organic experience, the compulsion to decode and understand being thoroughly thwarted by the limitations of our eyes and mind. I love it. I hate it. I love it.
(Per)mutations, by Keith Clancy.
See it at Compose Art Gallery,
2a Hakanoa st (next door to the organic butcher)
Grey Lynn.
UPDATE: A somewhat concerned phonecall from the proprietor of the Compose Art Gallery website and all is well: updated exhibition details will be up tomorrow, the erroneous reference to March's exhibition will be removed, and Keith's paintings are selling like psychedelic hotcakes! Get round there soon...
