On / Off
On / Off Interval to White
My initial inspiration for this series of paintings came from bar codes that we see everywhere around us. I became fascinated with the intrinsic beauty found in the structure of these bar codes. Separated from their meaning of mass produced inventory control, I was able to observe and internalize their structures.
Starting to paint, I freely positioned the bars to suit my expressive impulses. Within the configuration of the square, using base 20, I began to structure my forms. By pairing complementary colours in relation to white, I arrived at four colour sets or eight paintings. Each number naturally occupies a specific area of space. The relationship of the numbers to the bars demands a specific structure. The numbers on the left occupy a rectangle of space. Each 1 is the thickness of one wide bar. The position of the number 1 is the constant from painting to painting.
The numbers, or figures as we often refer to them, are figuratively by nature. Yet, the conventional figure/ground relationship is denied by the interfacing structure of the bars. The line delineating abstract from figurative becomes redundant. Movement in the paintings is created by the energy of the colour that creates tension like musical tones and rhythms. The colour intervals to white create a contrapuntal shift with the numbers. The play on the surface of the paintings has a lyrical expression. Through the thickness of the canvas and the thin skin of paint one is able to experience a multitude of spatial possibilities that are difficult to exhaust.
– Michael Flisak