Hello my name is Rhett.
Artist Statement
Formally, I consider my work to be in the abstract, dealing with the concerns of space and form, and the conflicts between the foreground and background. The content of my work reflects where I am, where I am from, and where I want to go, a basic but necessary reflection that influences everyone.
My influences stem from a childhood filled with videogame adventures and action figure battles. Transformers and LEGOs were the ones I was most fond of. I was always amazed at the fact that Transformers are seemingly basic toys but actually two in one. A great bit of engineering was needed to make plastic pieces have a specific place and function and fit snugly in either transformation. I remember cracking open the plastic, throwing aside the directions, and figuring the process out myself. LEGOs were special to me because I created environments that were my own and something I designed and built. There was a certain sense of accomplishment in that and I yearn for that feeling with every finished work.
This obsession with process and puzzle solving has bled into my work. I like to believe that I “construct” or “solve” a work, rather than “paint” one. Consequently, the way I work tends to be slow and methodical. I begin with an idea and set out a different set of instructions for each piece. With this method, I have a finished product in mind and follow each step to reach that finish line. I have been producing clean lines and shapes to fill in with color creating abstract, geometric forms that describe landscapes and streetscapes, as well as confuse the negative and positive shapes in the work.
I put the focus of my work visually on line because we are surrounded by an infinite number of lines. Everything we see and do is based on a line one way or another. The paths we take every day, the marks on paper when we write, the emotions on our faces: all forms of simple lines that are involved in our daily lives.
EDUCATION
2008-2012 BFA Painting, Middle Tennessee State University, TN
ORGANIZATIONS
2010-2012 Student Art Alliance, Middle Tennessee State University, TN
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012 Still Working, BFA Exhibition, Todd Gallery, Middle Tennessee State University,
TN
2012 Converging Paths, Center for the Arts, Murfreesboro, TN
2011 Syncopation, Moxie Art Supply, Murfreesboro, TN
2011 Student Art Alliance Juried Exhibition, Juror: Terry Thacker. Murphy Center, Middle Tennessee State University, TN
2011 Student Art Alliance Juried Exhibition, Juror: Jodi Hays-Gresham. City Hall.
Murfreesboro, TN
PUBLICATIONS
2011 Collage, Vol. 14, Fall 2011, Middle Tennesssee State University, TN