Salvage
Craig Cote’s exhibition entitled Salvage, consists of works on paper that depict a range of construction materials from ropes to pulleys, tarps, pallets, and boards. The objects he depicts, divide the pictorial space into geometric subdivisions, all of which are set within a shallow space that act as barriers and obstacles that confront the viewer.
Cote’s use of mixed media, display a myriad of marks, textures, drawings, and overpainting that direct the viewer through the compositions. The depiction of construction materials act as a metaphor for the artist building works of art, with a concern for formal arrangements that assert representation and abstraction, illusion and flatness, and providing areas of tension and release.
The objects and their arrangements display the remnants of human activity and act as if they were props on a stage transcending their ordinary characteristics. The images offer a sense of drama and mystery, unbounded by ordinary existence with metaphysical and spiritual overtones that evoke a much larger narrative.