American painting has long embraced the philosophy that bigger is better. From Jackson Pollock to contemporary artists like Mark Bradford, large scale works have been a consistent part of the modern American tradition. [caption id="attachment_8091" align="alignleft" width="301"] © JAMES SIENA, Untitled 2009
19-1/4" x 15-1/8"
Courtesy PaceWildenstein, New York[/caption] Lately though, there has been a shift. I noticed it first in the younger artists studios and then in the work of well known contemporary artists like James Siena. Instead of making epically scaled paintings, these artists are making work that is smaller, painterly, intimate and inviting. It was through my interest in James Siena's painting that I discovered the work of Ben Pritchard, a Brooklyn based artist creating small, heavily labored drawings and paintings. Siena included Pritchard in two exhibitions that he curated, first at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in 2009 and again at DC Moore Gallery in New York City in 2010. The surfaces of Pritchard's paintings are quite heavy and evidence layers of under painting. Gone is the grand format and familiar clean canvas edge. Instead, Pritchard's paintings are human scale and sit on awkwardly shaped surfaces where the forms appear to wrestle with the uneven edges. The intense workmanship and elegant simplicity of the final image combine to make Pritchard's work both charming and compelling. Ben's drawings are also intimate labors of love. Although in his drawing there is no layering or masking of the work involved. The detail sits on the surface and the finished image is an intricate concoction of marks that conform to a set of rules established by the artist at the outset of the drawing. All this work is squeezed onto a piece of paper not much larger than your average A3 sheet. Again the forms appear to wrestle within the asymmetrical edges of the paper to create intriguing, dynamic compositions. Pritchard's work represents a beautiful shift towards intimacy. He has stepped away from the massive, bold 'look at me paintings' of the past while skillfully preserving that certain something in painting that compels the viewer to take notice - only this time, it is not from a distance. To view more of Ben's work, visit his website or his TWFineArt print portfolio. [caption id="attachment_8138" align="aligncenter" width="494"] Oscar Fate, Ben Pritchard 2009-14, Oil on canvas, 24/28"[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8135" align="aligncenter" width="542"] Title Unknown, Ben Pritchard[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8093" align="aligncenter" width="405"] Santa Theresa, Ben Pritchard Ink on Paper, 2011,48/65cm[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8094" align="aligncenter" width="429"] Potatoe (Rhizome) Ben Pritchard Ink on paper, 25.5/19.5, 2012[/caption]          

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DRAWING ALGORITHM: Begin with 1cm horizontal line drawn in 7 colors, stacked vertically in top left corner. Move horizontally & follow with 1cm vertical line in 7 colors, stacked horizontally. Move horizontally & follow with 1cm horizontal line in 7 colors stacked vertically.   Move Vertically & follow with 1cm vertical line in 7 colors stacked horizontally & REPEAT [divider] This simple (albeit made up) example of a visual algorithm shows how an image can be created using the same self-imposed, predetermined sets of rules or algorithms used in the mathematical calculations that drive things like computer programs. When combined with an artist’s hand and a certain amount of unpredictability, generative art can produce some stunning results. TWFA’s Briony Barr has collaborated with physicist Andrew Melatos in Drawing on Complexity, an initiative that creates ‘art experiments’ in the form of large-scale, rule based floor drawings made by groups of participants using colored electrical (PVC) tape. Barr and Melatos invite external participants to create a drawing based on a set of devised rules. The artists do not direct the drawing process, instead they let the participants (agents) create the artwork just as much as the rules they are following. Over time, the interactions between the agents and the rules accumulate to create ripple effects that feed back into the artwork (or system) changing it's course. This happens over and over again, making the drawing complex and unpredictable. The artists document their work in time lapsed video with a written account of the project that is then uploaded to their website. This month the pair coordinate Drawing/Undrawing at NGV community hall in Melbourne. Stay tuned for future projects and be sure to check it out and contribute! Below is the pairs documentation for Experiment #4 at the National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art in Seoul. [divider] Experiment #4 Duration: 5 hours Agents: 24 Size: 12 x 12 m Location: The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea Date: 2013 The drawing was structured using an underlying pencil grid, providing two ways for the different agents to move around; on top of the lines articulating the grid (S1) or inside each grid square (S2). In phase one of the drawing, we allowed agents to have only four ‘children’ (four collaborations) before moving on. In phase two, agents working together were allowed to combine their genetic material as many times as they wanted. This rule variation resulted in many agent duos choosing to have rather a lot of ‘children’. In almost every drawing experiment we see this tendency towards the most efficient way of doing something. In the case of Experiment #4, working as a couple over a longer period of time, repeating the same act, means better strategies can be developed for getting things done (i.e. making a collaborative drawing). This is common sense and also a fundamental tendency of nature; to take the most energy efficient route.

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