Exhibition – COVIMETRY at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art

Exhibition Statement

Living with a lifelong passion for Geometry and year-long isolation from the devastating pandemic Covid, artist and curator Mark Starel of Warsaw Poland brought the two together (geometry & mask) with his newest exhibit COVIMETRY.

Today human survival is dependent upon our using an “antivirus” mask covering our most noted communication tool, our mouths, along with noses and much of our face. The mask has hindered our ability to read others expressions and feelings. By adopting the mask as a template and canvas, it now becomes a form for expression- even if just a fragment of a bigger picture of our times metaphorically.

Starel also brought together over 300 artists, uniting continents and likeminded geo-zealots. His intention is to grow the exhibit until it reaches 1000 artists, representing every country as a global community. Different artistic strategies are conveyed, exploring the shape and structure of the mask through the inclusion of a variety of media, styles and techniques that allow for contemporary notions of how geometry is being investigated today.

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My Entry

How I tackled my entry was to look at the hexagon and how it might fit in relation to the shape of the mask. I had just finished the artwork CIRCULUX I, a celebration of spinning circles at the corner points and centers of hexagons. Superimposing CIRCULUX I on top of the mask, I aligned two sides of the hexagon with the side corners while centering a hexagon between them. The V rests on top of the central hexagon locking it’s geometry to that of the mask.

QUADRATO I

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QUADRATO I, 2020
UV INKJET ON SHAPED ACRYLIC MOUNTED TO COMPOSITE ALUM. PANEL
dimensions variable (48″h x 39″w overall), edition of 3

This piece is about the energy of the square, the purest form of a quadrilateral. Here, I rotate them and divide their diagonals. Raised printed acrylic strips intersect the opposing colors and shapes. The overall shape is determined by the organizational principle, in this case, like a faceted diamond.

RESOLVE I

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RESOLVE I, 2020
uv cured inkjet on cut-out acrylic
44″ x 44″, edition of 3

Colors ebb and flow in a geometric lattice of oblong shapes connected by diamonds. For me it’s a meditative abstraction on the kinetic nature of being alive and being one with the ebb and flow of nature.