When Henri Matisse famously observed in the early 20th century, "Exactitude is not truth," he was addressing the issue of academic art such as that of James Tissot, Jean-Léon Gérôme, painters from the end of the 19th century, both now largely forgotten. He was not thinking about Geometric Design. Geometry is generally considered to be more truthful when it is more exact. I have no argument with that notion as it is engaged in architecture and decorative design, but in the last few years I've been engaged with questions of geometry in painting. Might Geometry be embraced as a structural element in paintings where its inherent exactitude is subsumed and brought into play on behalf of other, perhaps more expressive, goals?
Spray paint on panel. 8 x 8 inches.
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