Studio H Presents Steven Pearson "Amalgamations"

Steve Pearson

Amalgamations

October 21 - November 30, 2011
Opening: Saturday, November 5, 6-8pm
 

(Pictured above: Mesmer. 2011 48"x48")

We are all subject to a flood of information on a daily, if not hourly, basis via a variety of technological means- emails, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, online newspapers, countless websites, as well as television and radio. With such a wide array of information from so many sources, one is obligated to discern what is true, verifiable, and good; and what is false, speculative, inflammatory, and bad.

Steven Pearson is interested in how our ability to receive and assimilate a myriad of information on a constant basis can be reflected in a 2-dimensional format. In his paintings, he employs complex compositions and an autobiographical visual language consisting of codes and symbols. Each painting possesses a layered history- as new statements are juxtaposed next to or on top of earlier ones, the paintings begin to suggest the manner in which we store memories or assimilate and make sense of information. Some shapes are strong and vivid, while others become broken and incoherent, only suggested by the pentimenti left as a visual reminder of their previous existence.

Each of the larger paintings in Amalgamations is created from tracings of earlier paintings. Pearson traces their compositions in random areas, and pieces it back together in a new arrangement. After each painting is completed, he repeats that process, tracing the newest completed painting to compose the next. With each painting the original source is broken down and altered, eventually becoming unidentifiable. The breakdown and reorganizaton of that original composition from painting to painting is a representation, or metaphor, for information sharing and social networking.

Steven Pearson is a Painter and an Associate Professor in the Art & Art History Department at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD where he has been teaching various art courses since 2004. He is also the Director of the college’s Rice Gallery.
Steven currently lives in Westminster, MD, and works in his studios on Campus at McDaniel College, and at the Area 405 Building in Baltimore.

Studio H
408 H Street NE, Second Floor
Washington, DC 20002.