André Hemer

In his new exhibition Deep Surfacing, André Hemer continues to explore the complexity of seeing in the contemporary world. We live in a time in which we are likely to encounter everyday objects as de-materialized digital forms as much as their physical incarnations. Fundamental notions of what it means to experience and determine space, light, and illusion all have been reimagined as a result.

The paintings amalgamate different ways of looking at the same thing within a single canvas. Hemer begins his painting process with sculpted forms of dried thickened paint that are then arranged on top of a digital flat-bed scanner. With the lid of the scanner removed, digital scans were captured directly under the summer sky of Vienna.

The resulting combination of the light sources (the LED light of the scanner mixed with sunlight) manifests images that appear digital but are not produced in a strictly digital manner. The three-dimensionality of the captured forms is accentuated by saturated light and shadow, almost akin to 3D computer renderings that might suggest an infinite depth of space.

Hemer then adds translucent layers of spray paint, acrylic, oil and very think impasto to create surfaces that are both optically and physically complex. These layers both cover and activate the imagery underneath, adding areas of painterly intrusion that further "materialize" the painting and propose a depth of surface that goes beyond traditional means.

Deep Surfacing

November 5 - December 17, 2016

Press Release