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COLOUR
BY NUMBERS 1 - PRESS RELEASE |
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Press
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By Pete Mountford: Curator Ð March 2003 This show is the inaugural exhibition of the 'Colour by numbers' series. The objective will be to exhibit, and help to develop, the work of artists who are interested in exploring - in the broadest sense -the interaction between numeracy and colour. For example, this could be interpreted by our western rendition of numbers, or could be taken from other cultures and their symbolism, or other systems that follow a sequence or add together. It is the intention of the group to exhibit in Galleries in different parts of London, then the UK and possibly even abroad too. But that is getting ahead of ourselves. In this instance, at the Wine Gallery, 3 artists will be featured whose work complements one another both aesthetically and with the concepts they are addressing-: Steven Barrett: Particularly enjoys things that have an element of chance to determine their outcome and works across a range of 2D and 3D disciplines in different media. In this exhibition, Steven is primarily showcasing his 'reassembled colour charts'. These are taken from literally hundreds of colour charts that have been cut up and reassembled to produce single colour charts of one colour. Colour charts have long grabbed his interest through the Ðoften seemingly bizarre Ð multitude of names given to similar shades of each colour. Through a process of following his own pre-set ground rules, Steven sorts the different shades into light and dark hues, feeling that "as the original charts in themselves are representations of paint, the final work could be viewed as a representation of a painting". This subsequently produces an abstract pattern and interesting effect to the eye. Peter Mountford: Peter's work is based on utilising strong colours in relation to existing systems; such as the cycles of nature, numbers and The I Ching, that allow chance and structure to interact. This means "what I produce can be as much about the system being used, as it is about a particular theme or emotion". The starting point and underlying principal of Peter's approach is the structure of Cuisenaire rods. - A system of 10 counting rods, each with associate colours, that were used to teach maths to children back in the 1960's. By the very nature of following systems the association with numeracy always exists, although some works are 'number specific'. Most of Peter's output follows on-going series of pieces. It is the 'number series' that features largely in this exhibition. The aim is to present the numbers in both symbol and written form in relation to there designated 'Cuisenaire' colour. The letters are presented in the appropriate squares to pick out against the numbers in the background. The initial series used stencils to paint the characters on, although subsequently they have been printed on the computer and then painted over the surface. Chris Klein: Whose involvement with numbers started as a fascination with geometric descriptions of the golden section and the ratio 'phi', which represented to him a mathematical approach to defining beauty, an objective view of perfection. "Numbers and ratios were running through my head as a background programme to the images that were appearing on the canvas in much the same way that binary code streams through a computer as images appear on the screen". With this in mind, Chris's work in recent years has progressed from painting to digital images, which use archiva inks on high quality textured or gloss paper. He sees his approach, as still carrying the disposition of a painter as "the tools may have changed, but the subject matter and the approach have remained consistent. I find I can follow my ideas through quicker and better now and that the electronic nature of the medium has become integral to the work in the same way that brush strokes and canvas are an essential part of a painting".
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