artist statement

I have two ways of looking at my paintings. Inspired by works like D’Arcy Thompson’s “On Growth and Form” and Albertus Seba’s “Cabinet of Natural Curiosities” I’ve set out to find artifacts that suggest an essential code that anticipates life, a plastic Darwinian parallel. I believe that the structures of liquids (such as paint) have properties that approximate the architecture of primitive life. Through the manipulation of paint I create textures that appear to evolve into creatures, plants and primordial environments. Alternatively, I see collections of manmade contrivances, lost inventions, possessions, objects or themes that were once familiar and cherished, gone but then suddenly discovered with a new purpose.

Regardless, whether I am making components of or completely realized ‘life forms’, much of what drives and inspires me is the surprise or unanticipated discovery of new patterns that spontaneously emerge and break away from the established ‘normal’. The end result resembles a researcher’s collection of creatures, lab specimens or discarded objects as they might appear in a botanist’s or archeologist’s catalog combined with an aesthetician’s desire to present a completed picture or suite.
– joel bacon

for more information please contact us.