NUMBERS is a 12x12 inch mixed media painting made with recycled wood tiles and rare earth magnets. Each tile can be flipped, rotated and/or and moved to anywhere on the painting.
There are millions of possible configurations.
I love the tactile quality of art.
This piece and others like it are my attempt at expanding the physical experience of art. I made this body of work to be touched and handled by the viewer. The tiles are irregular and smooth from multiple sandings; they have a depth and a weight to them. The reclaimed wood that they are made of has a history of it own.
Artists always get to touch their own work, for me it is one of the great joys of making art. I hope that by creating work that is made to be handled, I am able to pass on that same joy to others.
I am also interested in shifting the role of the artist.
I have embedded a small rare earth magnet in each tile. This allows the tiles to be moved around endlessly within the piece, neatly holding themselves wherever they are placed. With each repositioning of the tile, the look and feel and meaning of the piece shifts.
I have attempted to make what I think of as the ingredients for a piece of art. With my videos I offer possible configurations, but ultimately I have left it to the viewer. Whoever is standing in front of the physical piece can change and rearrange the tiles based on their mood, tastes, whims, and desires. With this work, I the artist, am happy to step aside.
For a short while longer this and other "tile pieces" are available to be viewed, touched, and manipulated at Gallery One in Nashville.
