McKay Otto

In consideration of the dimensional relationships that exist between drawing, painting, and sculpture, this work is concerned with freeing two-dimensionality in painting. The specially formulated transparent nylon “canvas” provides the opportunity to work within and transform the traditional support of painting. As the rigidity of the planar support becomes dissolved, the circumstance arises to create works that are inwardly divisible and outwardly expanding. The implementation of the grid serves as a drawn formal structure that both stabilizes the surface of the art object while simultaneously creating passages for the viewer to literally see beyond. This notion of being able to see beyond the surface directly truncates the preconceived necessity of pictorial space and frees it to exist within the context of its own physical embodiment. This current body of work may serve as a metaphor for humanity’s capacity to transcend itself…