David Mann - Sympathetic Strings

At David Mann’s solo exhibition Sympathetic Strings, the artist drew a rich visual and metaphorical connection between his art and sympathetic strings. Sympathetic strings lie beneath the strings touched by a musician. They’re activated through the strings’ vibration, and appear in various instruments, including, most notably, the sitar. Mann uses these strings to visually create his multilayered paintings, and at the same time, his works pulsate with a unique energy and lyrical musicality, reminiscent of both nebulous forms under a microscope and the stellar vastness of space.

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New York based artist, David Mann presents an exhibition of paintings inspired by the sympathetic strings found on instruments, such as the sitar, that are only heard when touched by the vibrations of other strings. The sounds of which are only but also covered by a top layer. This feeling of intimacy and immensity resonates throughout the show. The paintings are lacquered with layers of acrylic, oil and translucent glazes. Gradients of colour saunter across the expansive surfaces, which erupt with mineral spirit bubbles and are contoured by taut white lines. The paintings are aesthetically liberating but also carefully restrained, offering the viewer a precise yet ambiguous artistic experience.

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David Mann explores the evocative properties of color and light as he works in the gap between abstraction and representation. His best paintings provide a visual experience that is richly visual and psychologically engaging. With their luminous depths and mystery of means they sometimes provoke the kind of surprising disorientation one feels when stumbling upon a dramatic scene of natural beauty. The summary effect is paradoxical: paintings that are both lucid and enigmatic. This compelling duality has long been and continues to be a defining characteristic of Mann’s work.

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New York-based artist David Mann has been making art for decades, with his most recent work exploring abstract shapes configured in such a way that they appear both microscopic and galactic. For his latest exhibition, Sympathetic Strings, his first solo show, Mann explores the idea of sympathetic strings, or those found on instruments like a sitar, that lie just below the strings that are struck by the musician. These sympathetic strings are triggered only by the vibrations of the played strings.

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