Andrew Reach

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My 3d Printed Sculpture ESCAPE HASH is being shown at Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC in the exhibition SEQUENCE. The exhibition opens January 12 and the opening reception is January 21. https://www.touchstonegallery.com/sequence

This sculpture was originally created when I was commissioned by the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve to make a tactile touchable artwork for the visually impaired for the exhibition W/O Limits: Art, Chronic Illness & Disability.
Click here to read more about the creation of this sculpture.

About the exhibition:
Art can be created with order or disorder; a plan or in chaos. Technology-based art can embrace or ignore process in new and intriguing methods. SEQUENCE at Touchstone Gallery was an international open call which invited artists to submit works created with, or influenced by, technology. The resulting exhibition includes a gallery show, a virtual show, and a series of performances featuring 44 artists from 14 states (plus the District of Columbia), Scotland, and Japan.

SEQUENCE Jurors:
Maleke Glee, Director of Art + Programming STABLE
Lauren Leving, Curator at Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland
Roddy Schrock, Executive Director, Eyebeam

Featured Artists: Atinuke Adeleke, Erin Austin, Annemarie Baldauf, Jenny E. Balisle, Alexandra Basford, Sophy Bevan, Robin Bell, Kimberly Callas, Ceci Cole McInturff, Chris Combs, Gary Duehr, Mat Duncan, Pam Eichner, Lucia Enriquez, Erin McGee Ferrell, Jayne Gaskins, Julia Gutman, A.D. Herzel, Homosocial, Felicia Jordan, Toby Kaufmann-Buhler, Wobbe F. Koning, May-Mei Lee, Gregory Little, K J May, Jeffrey Mumford, Jeremy Newman, Mary . Noosh, Izzy Osborn, Julia Paul, Adam Porter, Andrew Reach, Michelle Robinson, Dave Ryan, Steve Ryan, Lucia Sheppard, Ann Stoddard, Bill Tavis, Erin Harper Vernon, Gaylia Wagner, Andrew Wharton, Seitaro Yamazaki, and Drew Zimmerman.

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These pieces are a continuation of the QUADRABAR 3D Derivative series. It is derived from a 3d model of multi-colored cubes intersected by multi-colored bars. The cubes shift up and down forming a kind of implied geographic terrain. QUADRABAR II and QUADRABAR III are derived from the same 3d model as QUADRABAR I.

Though they are derived from the same 3d model as QUADRABAR I, QUADRABAR II and QUADRABAR III look totally different. They look different because the 3d model has been re-oriented.

For QUADRABAR II, the 3d model is rotated 90 degrees in the vertical position and the camera is positioned to view it from the side at an oblique angle. In this view the bars are oriented horizontally and you see the shifting of the cubes with their intersecting bars making for an implied serpentine curve. Because the view is at an oblique angle, you see the cubes and bars compressed, thus compressing the colors, making for a totally different tapestry than QUADRABAR I.

For QUADRABAR III, the orientation of the 3d model for QUADRABAR II is further re-oriented by another 90 degree rotation sideways so that the bars are oriented vertically. In this view you see the ends of the shifting cubes again making for an implied serpentine curve. Similar to QUADRABAR I, the camera is positioned to view it from the side at an oblique angle compressing the view of the bars and making for a entirely different tapestry than QUADRABAR II.

Click here to see my post about QUADRABAR I

Click here to see a fly around animation of the 3D model and to read more about the 3D Derivative process.

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My experimentation in working in 3D to create 2D wall artworks first began with my commission to create a 3d printed tactile sculpture for the exhibition W/O Limits: Art, Chronic Illness, & Disability at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve. I would take a deep dive into territory I briefly took back in 2015 with my 3d printed “MODEL CITIZENS” sculptures I created for my solo show “BITS IN PIECES” at the Maria Neil Art Project. As an architect my brain thinks in both 3D and 2D. I haven’t practiced architecture since 2005 and my transition into an artist had my brain delve into new territory that I think was inside me all along but waiting for the time for it to express itself. This new terrain involved thinking differently about the creative process with a focus in 2D, with a vocabulary of color and shapes in a single plane.

So that brings me to the present and these first two artworks in a series I’m calling “3D Derivatives”. The idea of an artist being derivative often has a negative connotation, as being imitative of another artist. But I’m using this word in a different context; that of something that is derived from a source, in this case the source being a 3d model. The process of creating the 3D printed hash sign first began with 3D modeling. With the model I rendered different color schemes. I could get a very good approximation of what it would look like in the real world. With this 3d model a lightbulb went off in my head as I realized this could be a tool to create 2d artworks by exporting a render to create a print.

A 3d model can be viewed in many ways, orthographically and in perspective, from the top, bottom and sides, from different angles, rotated… etc.

These are the first derivatives of QUADRABAR, titled so because it’s a series of cubes intersected by bars. QUADRABAR I (orthographic) is looking at a top view of the 3d model as an orthographic projection. Orthographic projection is a means to represent 3D objects in 2D. Think of architectural drawings of a house called Elevations representing each side of the house in a flat plane. QUADRABAR I (perspective) is looking from the same vantage point but in perspective. This view begins to tell you that there is more going on than can be seen in the orthographic view. The cubes are shifting up and down, undulating in a wave like formation. In the renders, there is a light source coming from the upper left casting shadows across the forms that adds further dimension.

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UPDATE: Click here to QUADRABAR I, the first of the artworks derived from this 3D model

I’ve been working on a new piece in 3d in Blender. Made up of multi-colored cubes intersected with multi-colored bars, the cubes step up and down, forming a kind of undulating geography. Here’s a short fly around screen cast of it.

I’m using this 3d medium as a new way to make 2d prints. This is a new artistic process for me I’m calling 3d Derivatives. When I made a 3d printed Hash sign for the recent W/O Limits exhibition at the Artists Archives, I first did renders of it to study the form. A lightbulb went off in my head and I realized I could take these renders, export them out and transform them into 2d cnc cut-out prints. Here’s an example: ESCAPE HASH II – CNC Cut-Out Print on Acrylic

My next step with this piece is to study renders with different light sources at different inclinations to cast realistic shadows across the forms. I can set up camera views looking at the forms in multiple ways; from the top, the sides, at angles, rotated etc. In addition to this, I can view it in perspective or orthographically. With the right views and lighting, I’ll be able to do high resolution renders and export them out to be printed on acrylic and cut out on a cnc router. Stay tuned for 2d artworks derived from this 3d model to come.

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