Gesture Knot (Out of Reach)

The centerpiece of my Charlotte Street Exhibition at Grand Arts was a large cut-aluminum piece titled Gesture Knot (Out of Reach). Extending the forms/shapes used within my collages/drawings, Gesture Knot began as a hand-held, paper cutout of a scribbled line that was enlarged using a water-jet cutter and the assistance of A. Zahner Co. Once the two shapes were cut, Spencer Schubert of E.S. Schubert Sculpture Studios helped with the hanging system and surface treatment for the piece. My greatest appreciation and recommendation goes out to Spencer.

Out of Reach as raw aluminum; ready for primer and paint.

The front and back surfaces were sprayed with a bubble-gum pink direct-to

metal primer to prepare the work for interior and exterior installation. The

back of each part was then sprayed hot pink to contrast the white and create a glow

that haloed off the wall.

With this piece and the thirteen drawings included in the exhibition, my work advances into a deeper investigation of language pulled from the history of abstraction (gesture, form, space). Conceptually, the Knots exist as drawings in space and communicate within the context of "gestural" abstraction. Through the multiple phases of cutting, a quick motion is deliberately slowed and addresses the absence of the artistic hand associated with minimal painting.

Spencer applies the initial coat of white on the face. Each edge was masked

to keep a bright pink 3/16" edge exposed around the entire piece.

Spraying the face of the second piece.

At each step in this fabrication, it was important to maintain a collage-like quality to the pieces that embodied the energy of the original cut-outs. See the pieces in a studio setting as abstract objects of sculpture stirred my thoughts about their potential for future works.

Following the final coat, the front piece drying in the studio. I really enjoy

the presence this form holds. See the final piece in the previous post.