These new works on paper are a continuation of my long-term interest in the fundamental interactions of science and nature. While earlier concerns were informed by a narrative based in physics, chemistry, and astronomy, these most recent pieces have evolved towards a dialogue framed within a geological and ecological context. This evolution has recently focused on the suggestion of dynamic situations and/or events which seem emphatically urgent, potentially dangerous and, even now, possibly irreversible. The result of this erosion of nature’s command is quite evident and seems uninterrupted nearly everywhere we look. This work hopefully reinforces the dialogue surrounding the prescience of a potent and calamitous eventuality which, on a global level, needs to be addressed.
The insertion of architectural elements here tends to reference an elaborate scaffolding or series of complicated passageways below a surface which has been broken, breached or opened. Because of their rectilinear character, they seem man-made while simultaneously engaging a highly charged organic environment; an environment forever in the process of change and evolution.
Finally, the attempted dialectical tension between the rather foreboding content of this work and the magical processes of the studio practice itself is significant. Although this utilization of conceptual opposition has been the long-term focus of my interest, in the end, the seductive character of the materials artists use and their unique processes still remain the primary and dominant subject of the work. The works are ultimately the residue of the depth of this experience.
Larry Brown
2013