Summer Treats - 2024

Pivot: a fixed point supporting something which turns or balances. Echo: repetitive structures ordering a visual field. Our universe exists within a phenomena of cycles. - Johannes Kepler My visual work has never been far from the influence of the grid. For me it’s a device upon which to build a composition, a construction and express visual paths. In the process of working on the Conceal Reveal Series I found passages that had resulted within the 2 inch squares enticing. (See Conceal Reveal No. 50.5) While the over-all composition secures the visual field, when isolating these squares I began to see other possibilities. The paintings on view here are the result of enlarging these passages to be their own compositions, statements of color, and surface. -- Robert Cwiok, 2024

My archival pigment prints combine layered geometric configurations to create a visual field of patterns within patterns. These works have their origin in my collage work of many years and transform interior patterns from security envelopes into new and unique compositions. The original collages are maquettes for the finished prints. The first complete edition of 12 contains 30 prints each. For inspiration I always return to papier collé. It is a different way to draw and fertile ground for new ideas. Collage materials are often unstable and as such the colors and papers have fugitive qualities. I have tried to improve my working materials so as to achieve the best possible permanence. A major tenant of my work has been to incorporate collage materials that have had an actual use and prior existence. Bringing the world into my work in this way allows me to bridge the gap between the two. The use of archival materials has led me to reinvent these compositions in silk screen monoprints such as the Columbia Pike Series of 1993 and the present on-going Conceal Reveal archival pigment print project.