SC 324207-1
Acrylic on Canvas

Joren Dykstra

Joren Dykstra's current work centers around two series of paintings: "Grid" paintings, in which the picture plane is divided into multiple squares, and "Synthetic Collage" paintings, which are random in their overall composition.

Varied interactions occur within the Grid paintings; some images connect or disconnect from the squares closest to them by line, shape, color, or painting style. The grid allows for many ideas and techniques to be utilized within one painting. This format adds order to the larger whole while allowing for breaks in the information, often causing dramatic shifts in the organization from one square to the next. The Grid paintings can be viewed as one overall work or as a series of separate paintings. Allowing the eye to travel around creates a unique viewing experience with each observation, as the eye makes different connections within the grid.

In the Synthetic Collage paintings, masking tape is used to create hard-edged shapes that shift between painted areas, creating the look of layers - similar to a collage. The paintings start with a wash of colors that drip and blend together; shapes are then masked off and opaque colors used to cover the canvas with another painting. As a result, a lot of information is buried under layers of paint. The areas that are selected to remain from the under painting are revealed when the tape is peeled off, creating interactions between each layer. In some areas, editing and repainting fuse these separate layers by adding fluid transitions to contrast the hard edges created by the tape. This further blurs the differentiation between foreground and background by intertwining the two together. The push and pull of the layers creates interesting spatial effects as the eye focuses on different parts of the painting.

Dykstra's work has been influenced by multiple artists, including Frank Stella, Pablo Picasso, Matthew Ritchie, Fernand Leger, and Lee Krasner. It also represents an evolution of many techniques with which he has experimented in the past, beginning with collages comprised of cutting from various paintings on paper that are then adhered to canvas. The difference in this current series is not only in the lack of texture and the immediacy of the results, but also the amplification of the element of chance. There is an amazing feeling of discovery when the tape is removed, revealing the painting for the first time in its new state.