Thatcher Projects is pleased to announce the opening of From the Badlands: Gluescapes and Constructed Drawings an exhibition of work by Heidi Van Wieren. Building layer upon layer of ink and glue, Van Wieren creates planes of depth where mediums intermingle to shape dreamy celestial landscapes and methodically linear forms.

Van Wieren’s newest series reflects the artist’s exploration of the South Dakota Badlands. Reminiscent of the clear nighttime sky, the Gluescape series is as captivating as the nebula-like forms of distant starscapes. Overlaying Elmer’s glue and multiple colors of pigment, the playful droplets of ink are sprinkled like rain across the surface fading in and out of the painting’s foreground. In her Constructed Drawings, Van Wieren uses a more rigid approach to the composition. Vertical and horizontal crosshatchings create variegated patterns in these woodglue, primer and ink works on paper. Covered by glue, underlayers of lines become tonal hues and visual echoes of her methodical process. In both aesthetics, Van Wieren’s paintings capture a sense of light, space and depth as the layers of ink and glue merge to create one unified vision.

Heidi Van Wieren’s paintings have recently been featured at Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago;  Klein Art Works, Chicago and Rocket Gallery, London. Interviews with the artist have aired on the Chicago Public Access Television shows “What is Art?” and “Art Beat.”