Roy Kinzer Exhibit in David Teiger Gallery

Roy KinzerArtist Roy Kinzer is exhibiting a body of work at the David Teiger Gallery for Studio Arts at Newark Academy from September 22 – October 24, 2017. A reception at Newark Academy will be held on Thursday, October 5, 2017, from 5:30-7:00 pm. In addition to sharing his work with the Newark Academy Community, Mr. Kinzer has been chosen to be the 2017-18 Artist-in-Residence.

The exhibit, entitled Reservoirs of Possibility, features paintings of fractal landscapes and cityscapes derived from digitally altered topographical maps and satellite images. Upon first approach, the paintings offer striking impressions of aerial views of locations that seem to have atmospheric layers of color and pattern infused.  Moving in for a closer look, one discovers a myriad of subtleties and details that both sink back into the landscape and also rise to the surface. The use of collaged maps brings together abstract and representational shapes, and highlights the fractal patterns that surround us, both in nature and man-made.

Kinzer’s Artist Statement below explains how he works in the tradition of the Hudson River School Luminist painters, who used perspective, magnified scale and dramatic lighting to explore the sublime, the feeling of rapture or awe caused by the beauty and terror of nature.

Kinzer has been making and teaching art for more than 30 years. He has an extensive exhibition record and frequently completes commissions for art consultants, corporations and private collectors.  He is a past recipient of the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Artist Grant.  He holds a Certificate of Art from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

While digital images do not do justice to this luminous work, below is sampling of the paintings currently on exhibit in the David Teiger Gallery for Studio Arts. View more of Kinzer’s work at RoyKinzer.com.

Roy KinzerCanoe Brook Reservoir (2017) acrylic and collaged map on aluminum, 48” x 56” is from one of my must recent series Eye of the Drone. With this series I position the viewer lower in the atmosphere. Unlike other series you are acutely aware of the horizon. You share the eye of the drone. Canoe Brook is directly behind Newark Academy.

Roy KinzerGlendale Avenue (2017) watercolor and collaged map on aluminum 40” x 48” is from my White Noise series. This references the early developments of “fractal geometry” and self-similar patterns that freely occur in nature. Other series of mine that visually refer to fractals are Fractal Sublime and Urban Self-Similarity.  This part of Glendale Avenue is located in downtown Livingston, NJ

Roy KinzerNorth Brother Island (2015) acrylic and collaged map on aluminum, 56” x 48” is from the Manhattan Project. This series are paintings all based on geographic areas around Manhattan. North Brother Island is located in the East River and has a very interesting history.

ROY KINZER ARTIST STATEMENT

My paintings are fractal landscapes and cityscapes derived from digitally altered topographical maps and satellite images. I work in the tradition of the Hudson River School Luminist painters, who used perspective, magnified scale and dramatic lighting to explore the Sublime, the feeling of rapture or awe caused by the beauty and terror of nature. I use Luminist techniques of color and solarization and apply the aesthetics of fractal patterns to simulate a view of earth as taken from a satellite. I believe combining formal and fractal elements creates a contemporary Sublime fitting to our digital society.

I have always been interested in the aesthetic patterns that occur freely in nature and I became aware of fractals and self-similarity through Dr. Richard Taylor’s articles describing Jackson Pollock’s paintings. This led me to “The Fractal Geometry of Nature” by Benoit Mandelbrot. Fractal sets have similar contours when focusing in or zooming out, so a grain of sand can appear to have the same outline as the coastline of a continent.

My work extends this to urban self-similar patterns and shapes that repeat across different scales. Each element holds the same properties as the larger system. Dense areas alternate with empty space. Small networks and clusters have the same outlines as city limits and borders. This feature also allows me to incorporate other elements that interest me, such as collaged maps, to bring together abstract and representational shapes.

I try to create a sense of isolation, fantasy and exaggeration by using an overhead perspective and by disrupting the cityscape with scratch marks, scrape marks and bleached-out light effects. These gestures tear into the repetitive fabric of the urban landscape and eat into the surface like atmospheric disturbances.

I work on many series that invite exploration. Aerial Landscapes; contemporary landscapes experienced through the eye of a satellite. Urban Self Similarity; repetitive patterns that occur in urban planning. White Noise; visual patterns that disrupt sound. The Biennale Series/Axis of Evil; cities that hold major art biennales. The Manhattan Project; areas of NYC infused with history. My process reflects these divergent interests.

Location; location; location, I start with the location. I alter and distort color and scale in Photoshop. Once I’m satisfied with the composition I print a digital image to work from.

The techniques I use are more associated with silkscreen printing which I have training in, than found in fine art. I apply masking tape to the surface of my substrate, which is aluminum composite panel that I prepare to accept acrylic paint or watercolor. I project the image, draw and cut each shape/color. I apply paint with a silkscreen squeegee, remove all the tape and repeat the process. This is done for every shape/color. On the average each painting gets 30 to 40 of these tapings. The finished painting is collaged with roads cut from Road Atlases.

My watercolors receive many layers of an archival spray to protect and free it from being behind glass. My acrylic paintings have multiple layers of acrylic Gels and Mediums and finished with a picture paintings varnish and hand rubbed out to a satin finish.

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