Observations by David Brown. Aug 1 – 12

Observations: August 1st – 12th 2018

Reception: Thursday August 2nd 6:30pm – 9:30pm

David Brown graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 1992. He has a 25 year award winning career in the international art and design industry. In 1996 David’s work was honoured by Toronto’s Design Exchange when it was included in “Type Culture”, an exhibition of top designers chosen for their pivotal influence on Canadian Typography. David Brown taught Industrial Design at OCADU from 1996 to 2006 while also operating a successful product design studio. David is the founder and managing director of Toronto’s SpeakEasy©, creating networking opportunities for established and emerging artists since 1996. In 2013 he initiated the Five Star collective aimed at facilitating member participation in international art fairs which have included Aqua Art Miami, Clio Art Fair New York and Fountain NYC.

David’s abstract encaustic paintings have been shown at numerous galleries and museums across Canada and the U.S. Most recently he mounted a solo exhibition at The Painting Center in Chelsea NYC. His paintings are held in private and corporate collections in North America, Europe and Asia. The products he designed have been sold across North America, and his work has been published in books and magazines throughout Canada and the United States, such as Azure, Canadian Art, Style at Home, House and Home and The Toronto Star to name a few.

I approach the act of painting like a builder; using wax, spray paint and print transfers to construct a multi-layered,

multi-sensory experience. I am interested in observing, collecting and reflecting the visual cacophony of urban life. In my work, layers record time, almost archaeologically, with image fragments encapsulated and experiences accumulated in the wax.

My process starts by gathering visual and auditory impressions formed while walking through the city. I collect images and textures from objects that have been discarded, walls that have been tagged and posters that have been covered and torn. Sound is one of the senses you are bombarded with daily but is not often represented visually. My goal is to include all the senses in my work.

The encaustic medium has become an integral part of this goal. Wax is a sculptural, flexible, organic material with a strong personality. Throughout history it has been used for embalming, preserving and healing. It’s versatility is demonstrated by the range of qualities it can yield, from opaque to translucent, shiny to matte, thick to thin, smooth to textured. At certain instants, I am encouraged to work quickly and then in other moments I am granted time to reflect. The wax and I have formed a partnership, it tells me where and how to proceed as much as I guide and tease the

molten medium.

In my work, I think of each mark as a problem that needs to be solved, a path to explore. In the Painted Series I transfer a digital collage of details from my image bank as a beginning. This collage involves found typography, textures and graphic marks decayed by the elements. Spray paint and layers upon layers of wax are piled on top. The final result is a very thin sculpture with fragments of long forgotten messages resonating through.

The visual language of graffiti, surveyor symbols and pavement markings form an armature for the depiction of three-dimensional space. I add greater depth using rectilinear and perspectival stripes, free floating organic and geometric forms. I strive to weave these elements through different levels while balancing the composition. Shapes are often rendered in positive and negative form to represent movement and create depth. The thinnest fibers that travel across the upper stratums of the picture plane hint at light or energy propelled from an unknown source.

In contrast, my Print Series is an immediate exploration of the wax’s character. In this case there is a visceral response when I bring a brick of wax onto a heated plate. The sensual flow of the medium tracks the movement of my hand and creates an illusion of three-dimensions. Instead of adding layers, I remove medium with silicon tools making lines and textures to develop the compositions.

I think of my paintings and prints as contemporary landscapes that reflect the experience of living in an urban environment. I encourage viewers to consider traces of human activity by translating basic senses into the visual realm. I strive to represent time and space, sight and sound, in a quiet loudness.

David Brown
http://www.encausticcollage.com

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