David Mann Exhibition
McKenzie Fine Art
This event has ended.
David Mann's abstract paintings suggest something on the cusp of coming into being, in a state of dissolution or dissipation, or both at once. The artist is interested in disrupting the experience of scale and space so there is ambiguity between the large and small. In several of the paintings there is a darkness located in the center of the painting giving a sense of great depth. This dark space brings to mind a deep channel or a cavernous abyss and has general associations with the pervasiveness of mystery and the unknown in our experience. On a more abstract level, the paintings explore illuminated darkness. Countering the deep space in some of the work are extended forms suggesting dramatic explosions or implosions with their expansive or compressive motion and attendant sexual overtones.
Mann's paintings reveal his interest in scientific imaging, particularly the Scanning Electron Microscope and the Hubble Telescope. This imagery is referenced for its abstract qualities and is compelling to the artist because of its inaccessibility to the naked eye, requiring the use of technology to be seen. The reference to science in the work is more philosophical than conceptual; the artist doesn’t seek to represent scientific concepts or theories but is concerned with the role science plays in our world, both as a source of information and as an authority on the nature of things. Mann's paintings embody the parallel idea that the artist subjectively gives form to previously unseen worlds in his work and that we gain vision of invisible worlds, the intimate (microscopic) and the immense (the cosmic), through highly technological means. The paintings therefore suggest hidden or obscure worlds and serve as a reminder of the ability of painting to give representation to these unseen realms, whether real or subjective.
[Image: David Mann "Once Upon" (2009), Acrylic and oil on canvas stretched over board, 46 1/8 x 46 1/8 inches]
Media
Schedule
from October 15, 2009 to November 14, 2009