Glimpse (Veiled Surface, Iteration 3) (2018) Dibujo por Kristopher Lionel

Christopher Brown. 'Glimpse (Veiled Surface, Iteration 3)'. 2023. Charcoal and Oil on Paper Glued to Panel. 43 x 76.5 x 2 inches. Features recessed shapes veneered in paper.

'Glimpse (Veiled Surface, Iteration 3)' is informed by Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. It is a large piece intended to envelop and immerse the viewer so that the experience of the work may provide respite, a space for quiet reflection.

The piece features recessed shapes, 1.5 inch and .75 inch deep, that are backed and edged with collages of drawings on paper. These recessed shapes are set in the context of a purely expressive field of line, shape, tonality, and texture. The drawings include representational fragments cropped and grouped in an abstract sequence meant to suggest incomplete or partial memories, fading, or forming thoughts. 'Glimpse (Veiled Surface, Iteration 3)' was inspired by the way bits of memory or imaginings can sometimes meld together, incongruously rearranging themselves into dreamlike glimpses, elusive visions.

The works in the series 'Veiled Surface (Iterations)' are offshoots from a series called 'Surfaces'. The first step in making my Iterations is to veil (cover) a piece from 'Surfaces' by laying paper on it. I then use charcoal, chalk, or pencil to make a rubbing that lifts an impression (sketch) from the surface in which the bas-relief cuts and textures underneath are transferred to the paper. This is the first glimpse through the veil. I build upon these sketches with oils and other media, examining the limitless ways that mark, material application, and color, affect composition, mood, and meaning within the pieces. Two works that demonstrate how different the Iterations can be are: 'Each Reign Spills Into The Sea (Veiled Surface, Iteration 5)', which conveys an impression of the sea and the motion of waves, and 'Ascending The Thermals (Veiled Surface Iteration 15)', which evokes a sense of hot moving air.

Revisiting similar initial compositions through these iterations is a practice of seeing the familiar anew, of interpreting the shrouded glances beneath the veil into clear expressions that are uniquely independent of other works in the series. While working on this series, I remembered a quote from William Blake's poem "Auguries of Innocence" that speaks to the repetitive aspect of working through these Iterations, of looking intently on the known to find variance: "To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour." In this series, I've set myself to seeing through the veil both literally and figuratively. Looking upon the same thing over and again but always seeing something new is to pull back a veil that exists only in one's mind.

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AbstractAbstract ArtAbstract PaintingAbstract DrawingBlack And White