PRESS RELEASE
Margaret Thatcher Projects is pleased to present Chaotic Precision, an exhibition of ‘photo-sculptures’ and abstract paintings by artists Gaston Bertin and Omar Chacón. The exhibition will open on Thursday, September 12, and run through Friday, October 25, 2024.
Gaston Bertin’s idiosyncratic ‘photo-sculptures’ on hand-crafted geometric wooden boxes involve a precision in fabrication that is both time-consuming and visually rewarding. In a remarkable fusion of technique and spontaneity, Bertin photographs layered pieces of paper, later transforming these collages into unexpected visual narratives that celebrate the beauty of the unplanned. His work masterfully juxtaposes meticulous craftsmanship with the unpremeditated nature of his abstract imagery. A practice he qualifies as a crossover between the street photographer looking for the "decisive moment" as described by Cartier-Bresson and the abstract impressionists' spontaneous, automatic, and subconscious approach to creation. For Bertin, photography captures fleeting moments, freezing them in time, while sculpture breathes life into materials, crafting dynamic volumes that dance within space. At the heart of his art, lies the rousing intersection of these two powerful disciplines, where the stillness of an image meets the tactile presence of three-dimensional forms.
During his formative years at Parsons in New York, Bertin found himself profoundly captivated by Mondrian’s Trees series at the Museum of Modern Art. This body of work not only influenced his artistic sensibilities but also sparked a deep, long-lasting fascination with the journey from reality into the realm of abstraction. Later on, the minimalist artists of the 1960s, including influential figures like Carl André, Donald Judd, and Sol LeWitt, served as crucial references for Bertin. Their theoretical approach redefined sculpture. It was no longer mere objects, but also their interactions with space.
In the mesmerizing oeuvre of Omar Chacón, materiality emerges as a central theme, intricately woven into the fabric of his artistry. The textural depth not only enhances the visual allure but also incites other sensorial engagements with the canvas. From afar, his work glistens with a candy-like sheen and a hypnotic interplay of vivid and muted hues. Yet, as one draws nearer, the layered complexity unfolds—highly textured surfaces reveal multidimensional grids of polychromatic, uniquely patterned tiles and droplets made of poured acrylic multihued paint. Allowing them to cure, he surrenders control to the whims of gravity and chance. Finally, the densely layered paint undergoes a transformative process where it is thoughtfully affixed onto canvas, eventually amalgamating to form a single, cohesive configuration.
Both Bertin’s and Chacon’s complex artistic processes embody a deep sense of meticulousness and precision yet allow for elements of unpredictability and lawlessness to not only occur, but to dictate major components of their work. Within their general framework of order lies a vibrant chaos that allows for the contemplation of the delicate interplay between structure and disorder that can extend into broader philosophical themes and resonates profoundly with the intricacies of the human experience.