the silent world was the first true body of work i built through a specific singular system. in this case, it began with a 26″ length of wood that was marked with a letter of the alphabet for each inch – thus the letter “t” would be a 20 inch line, “h” an 8 inch line and “e” a 5 inch line. each of the earliest paintings, which sort of resemble early bauhaus exercises, used these measurements to determine straight line constructions, but very quickly the score opened up to a place where an “a” always meant 1, and a “b” always meant two – but what that 1 or 2 could determine kept growing – 1 color, 1 inch, 1 minute of time spent on an area, 1 shape, etc. the idea was to work within a determined lexicon that could continue to be opened up. it forced the issue of indeterminate chance operation and intuition, as well as rigor; and a perfect beginning to painting again after working for 9 years and then stopping painting for 1 year. every painting in this series is a visual translation of the phrase “the silent world” which was the title of jacques cousteau’s first book.
you can read more about the first exhibition of this work via a catalog essay by christoph cox, from my first solo museum show at the contemporary arts forum in santa barbara california, here.
