Description:
These works are a collection of oil and acrylic on canvas and oil and acrylic on linen, works on paper, installations, sculptures and encaustic works and are the results of what happens when an artist steps back from the place where he’s been and moves confidently, and with purpose, in another direction.
John Dahlsen explores the duality of meaning and perception, and the illusion that is created in between. He presents an image of a non-object in a painting of an informal formalist sculpture.
His paintings depict the profile of a solid sculpture, moulded and plied to present the essence of formalism. The subject of the paintings, exhibit abstract geometrical imagery and constructivist diagramming of space, that is playfully organic and blob-like.
Yet the works are paintings of these organic man-made blob sculptures. The work considers cycles and recycling in re-presenting paintings of sculptures that are inherently plastic fabricator machine end waste. The use of plastic materials and their place in the evolutionary motions of recycling are important to Dahlsen in constructing these images.
He explores the mechanics of how an object is put together, what place it occupies in a cycle of life; organic or man-made. Dahlsen’s choice of materials has as much prominence as the end product.
The work concentrates on cycles, momentum and the multiple. He is painting nonrecyclable purged plastic objects. These objects are by products of everything plastic, they are the plastic run before or after a hairbrush, juice bottle or chair is made. They represent everything and nothing. The plastic in it’s petroleum state has undergone millions of years of evolution to get to this stage and then, it is discarded as a by product of societal needs.
For many years Dahlsen constructed artworks from detritus found on the eastern shores of Australia. He took society’s discarded objects of the everyday and transformed them into formal compositions. He would often take thousands of black objects and arrange a formalist composition that questioned our need for mass production of the everyday.
By presenting the discarded objects in a formalist composition he acknowledged the endless waste in producing ancillary items that support our everyday existence.
During the latter part of 2005 and through 2006, a body of work was created, which was a series of synthetic polymer paintings on Belgian linen and paper. Three dimensional works were also made in this series as well in the form of sculpture and assemblages which incorporate encaustic wax installations, based on the subject matter of plastic “purges” – plastic fabricator machine end waste.
This work in general considers cycles and recycling. Represented through paintings of sculptures that are inherently plastic fabricator machine end waste. The use of plastic materials and their place in the evolutionary motions of recycling are an important aspect in constructing these images.
In making this series of work, there is an exploration of the mechanics of how an object is put together, what place it occupies in a cycle of life; organic or man-made. The choice of materials have as much prominence as the end product.
The work concentrates on cycles, momentum and the multiple. In this series of work, plastic fabricator waste is painted, – purged plastic objects. Items, which are both, recycled, as well as all too often discarded into landfill.
These objects are by products of everything plastic, they are the plastic run before or after a hairbrush, juice bottle or chair is made. They represent everything and nothing. The plastic in its petroleum state has undergone millions of years of evolution to get to this stage. And then, it is discarded as a by-product of societal needs.
Essentially there is an exploration of the duality of meaning and perception and the illusion that is created in between. There is the presentation of an image of a non-object, in a painting of an informal Formalist sculpture. The paintings create the profile of a solid sculpture, moulded and plied to present the essence of formalism. The subject of the paintings, exhibit abstract geometrical imagery and constructivist diagramming of space that is playfully organic and blob-like.
The direction in this ‘purge’ work, which as stated, also incorporates sculpture and assemblage, is a natural evolution of the greater body of environmental artwork and further consolidated a return to painting, which was the main medium for many years, prior to working at that time for over ten years with found objects; making sculptures and assemblages from beach found plastic litter. Thyose works were largely based upon environmental themes, taking society’s discarded objects of the everyday and transforming them into formal compositions.
John Dahlsen