Color Theory: The Prismatic Tunnel Vision of Jen Stark - Hi-Fructose Magazine

Dimensionality showcased paintings, sculptures, installations, and a major mural that explore added physical depth and perceptual shift. Stark often transforms flat surfaces into projecting forms through folds, layered materials, and color variation. 'Squared' consists of thirty-five powder-coated aluminum sheets, each a different color, with concentric square folds extending toward the viewer. The works demand sustained attention and operate within a lineage of hue-focused practice linked to Sol Lewitt, Yayoi Kusama, and Ernst Haeckel. Stark hand-cuts paper sculptures and maintains that the visual language of her imagery developed independently of psychedelic experiences, though such states can make inner shapes feel more obvious.

"As the exhibition title suggests, Stark plays with painting and sculpture by adding or accentuating the dimensions of her work, often transforming two-dimensional objects into three-dimensional ones," the gallery said. "'Squared,' which is composed of thirty-five square sheets of powder coated aluminum, inhabits the wall like a painting. Each sheet is painted a different color and has a concentric square fold that extends outside the picture plane towards the viewer."

"As simple as her experiments may appear when first approached, her pieces function like that of her hue-obsessed predecessors, from Sol Lewitt to Yayoi Kusama. One must spend time with it;let it envelop you and transport you to a more ancient awareness of color and form. (It's no surprise Ernst Haeckel, the multi-talented, turn-of-the-century figure who named thousands of new species while also innovating scientific art, is also among her influences.)"

"They think a machine or laser cutter does it, and can't believe someone would or could cut it by hand. Also sometimes people, think I'm a big acidhead or pothead because of my imagery. While I do occasionally dabble, I came up with the basis for my artwork long before I was ever introduced to these kinds of altered states. I think those shapes and feelings are already inside of us, waiting to come out."

Read at Hi-Fructose Magazine - The New Contemporary Art Magazine