Artwork – Page 5 – Andrew Reach

August 30, 2021March 21, 2022

ASTERISCUS I at Artists Archives of the Western Reserve LGBTQ+ exhibition CONVERGE

I’m proud to be part of the exhibition CONVERGE. The brainchild of artist and Collection’s Registrar of the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve, Kelly Pontoni, the following are excerpts from the AAWR’s website:

CONVERGE features 71 regional artists of all ages, backgrounds, and identifications, creating a vibrant cross-section of the LGBTQ experience. Conceived by Kelly Pontoni, and co-curated by artists Sam Butler, Tony Williams, and Mark Yasenchack, with assistance by Mary Proctor, over 140 pieces were selected in a staggering array of media including painting, photography, textiles, glass, fashion, assemblage, and immersive installations which transport the viewers while transforming their perspective.

In addition to its support of local LGBTQ artists, CONVERGE also marks the first effort to extensively document their contributions to the important visual culture of Northeast Ohio.
Click here to read more about the exhibition on AAWR’s website.

click on images to enlarge (except mobile devices)

The work ASTERISCUS I embodies the things I strive to convey in my art. Starting with a geometric construct, in this work the form of the asterisk, I weave color and striped patterning to optically energize its geometric forms. Each asterisk is embellished with varying secondary forms that creates a playful dialog with its surroundings. Cut out on a cnc router, its composition is further geometrically energized. This energy is a proxy for my inability to move freely through the world without pain and represents a little piece of me that has been freed.

My husband Bruce Baumwoll (on left) and me

This artist was awarded the Ohio Arts Council’s ADAP Grant (Artists With Disabilities Access Program) for Fiscal Year 2022.

“ADAP (Artists With Disabilities Access Program) provides funding that gives individual artists with disabilities—and organizations that serve them—the resources they need to further their artistic development. ADAP awards help artists with disabilities advance their artistic practices, making Ohio a more accessible and inclusive place to build an artistic career.”

August 19, 2021March 21, 2022

CIRCULUX I Installed in new law offices in New Orleans

Through the Gallery / Art Advisory Ann Connelly Fine Art in Baton Rouge Louisiana, I’m pleased to report that my artwork CIRCULUX I (uv cured inkjet on cnc cut acrylic) has been acquired for the new offices of the law firm Fishman Haygood in New Orleans.

The space is a lounge in the law firm that’s meant to be a relaxing space to get away from the seriousness of the day to day business at hand .

Special thanks to Chelsea Norris, assistant director of Ann Connelly Fine Art, for her enthusiasm and promotion of my work.

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CIRCULUX I at printer/fabricator Vista Color Imaging in Cleveland

Gallerist and art consultant Ann Connelly installing CIRCULUX I at law firm in New Orleans.

This artist was awarded the Ohio Arts Council’s ADAP Grant (Artists With Disabilities Access Program) for Fiscal Year 2022.

July 30, 2021August 16, 2022

New Artwork – HASH MASH I – uv cured inkjet on cnc cut acrylic

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**HASH MASH I**, 2021
uv cured inkjet on cnc cut acrylic mounted to composite aluminum
50.25″h x 48″w, edition of 3

Individually, we have in our possession the most powerful technology humankind has ever seen, the smartphone. Historically, we live in our homes, work in offices and go places for recreation and to interact with family and friends. Being in these physical locations gives us a sense of place, of history. But more and more we find ourselves not so much in a physical location interacting with the world in real time, but in a virtual place, with our phones navigating our psyches. And social media has overwhelmingly become the facilitator of this new journey we are collectively traveling in. In its path, language is being reduced, with symbols replacing words and abbreviations replacing sentences. The hash symbol has become the symbol most representing the zeitgeist in this new terrain. When we publish a hashtag, were attaching metadata that links us to the world. We become searchable. We can be found.

Where our data is, we are.

June 7, 2021February 10, 2022

New Artwork – ASTERISCUS III – uv cured inkjet on cnc cut acrylic

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*ASTERISCUS III, 2021*
*uv cured inkjet on cnc cut acrylic mounted to composite aluminum panel*
dimensions variable 54.5″h x 41.75″w, edition of 3

Here I celebrate the underappreciated asterisk. The hashtag is getting all the fame. But before the hashtag became so celebrated with the advent of instagram, the asterisk has been used throughout the ages. The iconography of the Asterisk is deeply embedded in the human psyche. The original literal meaning of asterisk is “little star”. The symbol of the asterisk, ubiquitous today, used in computer language and mathematics has ancient roots going back to pre-history in cave paintings by ice age humans (https://youtu.be/hJnEQCMA5Sg). From there it has gone on throughout history to be used in many ways, literature, mathematics and today in the languages of computer code. And lets not forget it’s use in todays language to tone down expletives, a common example being f**k. Where would we be without the diminutive asterisk.

ASTERISCUS III is an exploration of geometric abstraction utilizing symbols, in this piece a specific asterisk from the Unicode Standard. The asterisk symbol has ancient roots, utilized throughout history by different cultures for different purposes. It has become a universal symbol, incorporated into the fabric of technology through the Unicode Standard. Into this form, I’m weaving color and bold black and whites to optically energize the multi-layered composition. The symbol used in ASTERISCUS I is the Unicode Standard designated as U+1F7BA, the designation given to the symbol given the name “Extremely Heavy Six Spoked Asterisk”. The Unicode Standard designates all symbols, giving them coding data that can be uniformly used in technology internationally. U+1F7BA is distinguished from other asterisks in the Unicode Standard by the thickness of its spokes versus more delicate asterisks in the code. Transforming this symbol from something of use in computer code, language, telecommunications and mathematics into the realm of geometric object is an expression of technology transformed to an aesthetic that speaks to our technological times.