Vox Linea
Naum Gabo continues to haunt the studio here, and this piece, Vox Linea, makes particular reference to some of the ideas he explored surrounding intersecting forms, bisecting geometries, apertures and the relationships of those core compositional elements behind the picture plane.
Myriad
Myriad is a study based on a number of ideas that I was keen to explore further for my Generator show. The drawing progresses from a circular core to a square form at its outer edges, literally squaring the circle. The whole form becoming redolent of a 12” record, a format which of course comprises a circular vinyl disc in a square paper sleeve.
Dazzle / gilt inflection
Dazzle experiments with the idea of mapping one geometry onto a second, and then a third. I called this process Systematic Variations. The multiple iterations offer a new way of creating more complex structures, underpinned by a series of fairly logical mathematical progressions, that generate fascinating, often unexpected, new works.
Rubicon
Rubicon is the first of a series of circular ’systematic variation’ pieces, that take on the idea of using a series of geometrical variations to re-modulate underlying drawings, adding increased levels of movement and energy to the linework. In this case, using a kind of diamond matrix to animate the flow of the inks as they work outwards from the centre.
Chime
Chime is the first study I made whose primary concern shifts from the volumes within a given space, to the lines defining those volumes. The drawing is double exposed, in such a way that there are both white highlight lines and darker shadow lines, reversed through the neg. The intention was to create a study that is as much about the line as it is about sculpting form.
Flow / indigo black
Drawing Flow was a breakthrough moment for me. It was the first piece that spoke directly to the idea of drawing glass, using translucent glazes, and layers of transparencies, that in some way capture the excitement of seeing a great piece of studio glass, or contemporary stained glass, in an environment where light plays across and through the surfaces.
Sun : Moon : Cosmos {67}
In the year I was born, 67, there was an explosion of oil slide fuelled psychedelia, and at the time I drew Cosmos, I wanted to see if I could capture some of that light energy in a panel for the wall. Cosmos, therefore, pays more than a little tribute to the original freak out light shows of the first summer of love.
Aquiline
I set Aquiline up to have multiple vanishing points, the first of many studies in which the basic laws of three point perspective are bent out of shape to enhance the drama in the drawings. I love the idea that digital systems allow you to adjust and edit the basic rules of perspective to get extra dynamism, extra energy, into the work.
Eight Ball
I drew Eight ball after a long summer break in the Catalan region of Spain. Of course I couldn’t help but visit the Miro Foundation in Barcelona while I was there. Some part of that trip no doubt found its way into this study, which uses a more overt 3d space to hang loosely described elements alongside a series of almost calligraphic black marks.
Rotor
There's something about the way a circular form can contain energy, almost as if it's encapsulated fully within the shape, that's really appealing. Perhaps derived from the fact that our globe contains and encapsulates all the energy and matter we have here, a single sphere floating in space. I like the way the works may sit on the wall too, like a giant full point, above a rectangular form below, be that a sideboard or a fire surround.
Collider / gilded mandala
Collider is a study that riffs on some of the thinking around quantum mechanics and the Fibonacci number sequence. In particular the idea that much of the underlying geometry of our universe may conform to this sequence and these theories. From the ratio of the bones in our hands to the curve of a wave breaking on a beach, and the shape of our galaxy, the Fibonacci sequence is all around us.
Flow SQ
Flow / SQ is a pair of smaller studies I made, partly in response to a beautiful small Serpentine print I have here, by Bridget Riley. It’s a modest square print, that holds a space on the wall next to the window in my living room, a small beacon that illuminates my days and evenings, and has been doing so for 25 years or so.
Oriel
Oriel is formulated around a classic spirograph style drawing, in which a multiplicity of circles interlock to form an intensely satisfying repeating pattern of arcs on the page. It can also be viewed as a kind of window or portal, that may draw in the gaze of the viewer, with its gently hypnotic repetitions.
Loop / deep blue
Loop was a small gift, a poem really. I was working on the Halcyon series when I saw it, a single component from that work, which seemed to have a life of it’s own. A study in tension between the looped element and the straight lines traversing the top left hand side of the composition, which I hope creates a really beautiful tension in the final piece.
Millefiori / DMG
Millefiori / DMG is the next logical, or perhaps illogical, step towards trying to capture some of the light, life and vibrancy that you will find in studio glass, on paper, inspired by a visit to Murano, and the millefiori works they make there.
Lyric
There’s a romance and intrigue surrounding the AbEx idea of the gestural mark, and a deeply questionable belief in the artist's ability to channel energy into making that mark, often in glamorously run down situations. Lyric takes on these ideas, using a singular central line that modulates more intensely as it moves away from the central horizon line. I hope it packs a lot of energy, and a lot of interest, into the frame.
